Nightmare House
by MasterofDungeons
Summary: During a capture mission gone wrong, a group of students led by Aizawa find themselves face to face with a notorious killer. Trapped in an abandoned lodge with their targets subdued, the killer presents them an offer. Kill one, or they all die. In order to survive, they must give One for All.
1. What Could Go Wrong

**Hello, everyone. This is my first attempt at a story for this series. I hope you enjoy.**

 **Feedback is appreciated.**

* * *

The afternoon sun cast lazy amber beams of light through the tall windows that marked the outer wall of the teacher's lounge. The ceiling fan spun silently overhead, occasionally ruffling the loose pages spread about the corner desk. Aizawa Shota lifted his steaming mug to his lips, carefully sipping the hot liquid. His bloodshot eyes peeked from behind his unruly black hair, carefully scanning the files before him.

Seated on the sofa across the room, Principal Nezu trainquilly sipped at a small cup of tea, eyes closed as he relished the flavor. His normally carefree personality belied the cunning intellect of the bear-rat-dog.

For now, neither spoke. Some might be disturbed by the silence of the normally long winded principal, but Aizawa was fine waiting. Speaking without anything to say couldn't be considered rational, after all.

Aizawa scanned over a few more reams of paper before coming to a silent decision. He gathered the pages and returned them to their appropriate folders. He placed the filled folders in a stack to the side, almost two feet high, keeping eight of them separate. Taking these, he set them down on the table in front of Nezu.

"Made your selection?" the principal asked, opening his eyes.

Aizawa nodded, separating five of the folders from the other three. "These students will accompany me to capture these," he gestured at the remaining three folders, "villains."

Nezu began scanning through the offered files, spending only a few moments on each of the students' files but lingering on each villain. He knew the students' abilities well enough by now, but he needed to have the full measure of what they would be up against before he gave his approval.

"You're sure your choice of students can handle this?" the principal asked. He knew as well as Aizawa that they could, but he needed to know the man's own convictions.

"I'm sure," the teacher answered. "The targets are on a level that I might be able to take them working alone. With these five added to the mix it should be relatively simple. Assuming things go as planned, of course."

"It seems like it could be a volatile mixture," Nezu pointed out.

"All the more reason to take them on this guided mission. Three of them have experience in pitched battle, but the other two missed out. This will be a good chance to bring them up to speed while making sure they've learned to put aside their differences. At least for the duration of a mission."

Nezu nodded once. "We'll be recording this as a short-term internship for them, just in case things don't go as planned."

"That makes sense."

"Very well, you have my permission," he said after a moment's contemplation.

Aizawa nodded once in acknowledgement, his bloodshot eyes straying to the clock.

5:36 PM

He would need to let them know tonight so they could be ready come the morning. He considered teaching them a lesson in preparedness by not warning them, but even he had to admit they had proven themselves capable enough not to need such basics anymore.

"I'd better get ready," he finally said, excusing himself.

"Have a good night!" Nezu called after him cheerfully.

* * *

"DIE!"

Katsuki Bakugo roared, his face stretched into an expression of malicious glee as Kaminari Denki began to panic. There wasn't much else he could do really. He attempted to dodge; Bakugo anticipated him. He attempted to block; Bakugo broke through. The conclusion was foregone, he supposed as the flaming fist approached that would mark the end of his life. He'd had a good run. He had no regrets. Then the attack connected.

"K.O!" the TV shouted as Bakugo tossed his controller in triumph while their audience either applauded the winner or comforted the weeping Kaminari.

Across the common area, Iida Tenya, Midoriya Izuku, Uraraka Ochako, and Todoroki Shoto were seated around a table comparing notes for the upcoming quiz. Not that one had been announced, but since the end of the work study program, Aizawa had increased their course load. "The tenacity of society's villains has increased, so it's important that your preparation increase too," he had reasoned. Since the announcement, they had had no fewer than thirteen pop-quizzes, six essays, and three practical tests.

Izuku sighed, running a hand through his messy, green hair as he stared down the problem in front of him. The calculus assignments were still largely gibberish to him, but Iida had helped the rest of them keep up. His green eyes narrowed in concentration.

"Iida," he spoke up, drawing the attention of his stern-faced classmate. "Could you pass me the derivative table again?"

The turbo student passed a page full of equations to Izuku as Uraraka flipped over an egg timer in the center of the table. Iida's idea, though they had all agreed to it. If anyone needed to use a cheat sheet to remember a rule or equation, they had only as much time as sand in the glass. From there, they had to solve the problem themselves. This was intended to prevent them from becoming dependent upon their notes and to push them to memorize the information as they applied it.

"I'm gonna grab something to drink," Todoroki spoke up, pushing out his chair. "You guys want anything?"

"No, thanks," both Iida and Izuku answered.

"Water for me, please," Uraraka requested, hand raised but eyes hidden behind her chestnut hair as she continued to stare at the paper in front of her.

Todoroki moved into the kitchen and proceeded to poor a glass of water for Uraraka and a glass of orange juice for himself. As he turned to leave the kitchen, something caught his mismatched eyes. A second TV was positioned with a view into the kitchen for anyone who might be working there at the time. Right now, it was tuned into a news channel.

"Breaking Story!" the screen displayed. "Notorious killer escapes prison!"

He decided to stay for just a moment to see if they would provide any useful information or if it would devolve into the mindless sensationalism that was so popular these days. He adjusted the volume so he could hear.

"-have confirmed that the serial killer known as Shadowmark has escaped confinement," a smartly dressed woman spoke from behind the news desk. The newscast cut to footage of a man with the head of a dog speaking at a podium.

"We have confirmed that after a power failure at Hakure National Prison, the prisoner known as Shadowmark has escaped confinement. He is considered extremely dangerous. It is imperative that members of the public not engage him if spotted. If you have information or a sighting to report please contact us immediately, woof."

"That was Mr. Tsuragamae Kenji," the newscaster spoke as the feed cut back to the newsroom. "Shadowmark was originally apprehended seven years ago in a joint operation between All Might and Endeavor. With All Might now retired-"

Todoroki chose to return to his classmates before the fear mongering could begin. He didn't recall his father being involved with a villain by that name, but, then again, at the time he hadn't been too interested in paying attention to the man. Passing the water to a grateful Uraraka, he turned his attention back to his own papers. Unfortunately, it appeared fate did not care for his studies this evening.

"Oi! Nerd herd!" Mina called out from her place on the couch, "Any of you wanna try taking on King Explode-y over here?"

Izuku looked up from his paper, sparing a glance at his pink classmate before answering, "Ah, n-"

"Thank you for the invitation!" Iida shouted, interrupting his more soft spoken classmate. "But we must be prepared in the event Aizawa-sensei springs another quiz on us tomorrow!"

"Come on~," the black-eyed girl cooed with a cheeky grin. "He just gave us one today, he probably doesn't have one prepared for tomorrow."

"That's not very good reasoning," a tired voice cut in from the entryway. Mina jumped in surprise as Aizawa walked through the front door, pulling a cart behind him. "Even if there isn't a quiz tomorrow, your grades would improve if you studied like there is one." he concluded with a withering, bloodshot glance.

"Aizawa-sensei," the class president greeted. "To what do we owe this visit?"

The teacher regarded him neutrally. "Sorry, but Mina is actually right about there not being a quiz tomorrow."

The four students at the table stared at him, dumbfounded while Mina tried, and failed, to hide her excitement. Todoroki, for his part, was nonplussed, choosing instead to turn his attention from the blank face of his teacher to the cart he was pulling. There were five steel cases stacked there.

"Is this about the prison break?" he asked.

"No," the teacher dismissed quickly. "That matter is being handled by the police and whatever heroes they call in to assist with the capture." His eyes turned to the cases, directing their attention there. "I got permission from the Principal to take some of you out for a practical lesson in villain capture. Midoriya, Katsuki, Todoroki, Kirishima, and Uraraka," he addressed them, glancing at each in turn, "I've brought your costumes. You'll also find a dossier on our targets in the case. Study it tonight. We're leaving at four tomorrow morning."

"Hey! No fair!" shouted Mineta, his voice stretched into a high octave as his hand batted at the empty air. "Why do they get to be the favorites?! We can take on this mission too! This is some sort of elitist scheme isn't it!"

"Midnight will be filling in for me tomorrow, but we should be back by tomorrow evening," Aizawa said, addressing Iida while ignoring the small student.

"Good luck you guys!" Mineta shouted now, not realizing in his excitement that he was patting Bakugo on the back. The ashy-haired teen responded in expected fashion.

"Don't touch me, you perverted grape!" he shouted, a small explosion lighting his palm. "I'll kill you!"

"Waaaah!" said grape shouted. "Sensei, Bakugo's getting violent!"

"As for why I chose these five," Aizawa continued, still ignoring Mineta as a wicked grin spreading across his face, "Consider that tomorrow's quiz."

"No! Mineta, why did you have to open your mouth!?" Mina shouted in despair as Momo halfheartedly restrained the distraught teen from throttling the boy. Meanwhile, Aizawa handed each of the chosen students the case containing their costume.

"Well that's all," Aizawa called back as he turned to leave. "Remember, we're leaving at four sharp. Don't be late." And with that, he was gone.

* * *

3:00 AM - Monday

Izuku Midoriya sat on a wooden bench outside the dorm, letting the cool morning air chase away the sleep still clouding his mind. In the end, he had only managed a couple hours of sleep between studying the dossier Aizawa-sensei had given them and the raw anticipation of the coming day. He wondered absently is the anticipation ever got better. It was a small comfort that there was no hostage to rescue this time. At least not one that was known about beforehand.

He allowed his thoughts to drift toward Eri. If he were to guess, she would be in Mirio's care until they got back. It had been a couple of weeks since he had seen the shy girl, but the updates he had received from his upperclassman had all been positive.

Not the time for that, he scolded himself. I should be reviewing the information Aizawa-sensei gave us.

There had been three files in the dossier. Three targets. The first went by the name Goliath. From his picture, he appeared to be a brute of a man, possessing a square, scarred face and beady black eyes. One of his ears was puffy and misshapen. His quirk was a simple Gigantification type with a height of ten meters. Given the man's already considerable muscle mass, his full strength would likely be capable of incredible destructive power.

The second went by the name Bug Spray. A sullen man that rarely showed his face, choosing instead to hide behind a hood, bandana, and thick goggles. His quirk apparently allowed him to send out swarms of insects to do his bidding. Useful in tight places, but out in the open, manageable. What would really matter is whether or not his selection of insects included anything particularly venomous.

The last was a woman going by Somnus. Her picture showed that she had dark hair and darker eyes. The rings underneath them spoke of many sleepless nights, but the wild glint in her eyes was one of manic energy. Her quirk gave her the ability to create zones of darkness even in broad daylight. She had used this ability to allow herself and her comrades to evade capture on numerous occasions. "Her quirk would be especially troublesome for Aizawa-sensei who relies on his vision to erase another's quirk. Still, in terms of destructive power, Goliath should be the first target. If he went on a rampage-"

A hand waved in front of his face snapped him back to reality. Looking up, he saw Uraraka, already dressed in her hero costume, giving him a sheepish smile.

"You were really focused that time," she laughed, confidence replacing the bashfulness in her smile. "I bet you've already got a plan for how to deal with them."

"Ah, no, not yet," Izuku answered, slightly flustered that she had managed to catch up to him mid-mutter storm. That's how she had described his habit in the past anyway.

She didn't seem perturbed by his answer though, choosing instead to punch the air in excitement. "We'll have it figured out before then," she assured. "I'm sure Aizawa-sensei has been working on a plan too."

"Yeah, I guess I'm just a little anxious to start moving," he admitted.

She answered with a nod, frowning in thought as she seated herself on the bench to his left. With any luck this wouldn't be like the last mission. She still remembered the desperate struggle against the Eight Precepts and Sir Nighteye's ominous prediction of defeat. Injury and exhaustion had prevented her from doing anything more than aid in extracting the veteran hero, but they had still won in the end, even if it was at great cost. If they had managed to survive that battle, she was sure they could handle this mission.

"You two are up early," a level voice broke through her thoughts. Turning, they both saw Todoroki approaching. The hair on his right side reflected the light from the lamppost above, making the normally white strands appear orange. His off color gaze examined them each, taking in their expressions and postures as he made his way to stand by the right side of the bench.

"You're early too, Todoroki," Midoriya answered by way of greeting, gesturing to his watch. The display read 3:15.

"I'd rather be fully awake when we leave," the dual quirk user shrugged. "I didn't expect anyone else to be here before me, however."

"NO WAY!" came a cry of dismay from the entrance to the building. Standing there was Kirishima, red hair reaching to the sky as he stared in disbelief at his three classmates. "I was sure I would be the first one here!"

"Kirishima," Uraraka hissed, placing a finger on in front of her mouth. "The others are still trying to sleep."

"Oh," the rambunctious teen responded, dropping his volume. Scanning the group, he grinned widely. "At least I beat Bakugo."

"Who did you beat!?"

Everyone jumped at the sudden exclamation. The three at the bench turned to look upward, their eyes catching the glint of green metal. Lounging on an overhanging branch and scowling down at them was Bakugo.

"How long have you been up there?" Todoroki asked calmly while the other three gawked at their tree dwelling classmate.

"Since two thirty," he answered smugly.

Kirishima looked on, tears forming in his eyes. "Dang it," he muttered. "Now how am I supposed to get good marks with Aizawa-sensei?"

"Bringing your grades up would be a good start," the dreary voice of their teacher answered from the tree. They all looked up again, Bakugo as well, only to find that their teacher was concealed in the shadows of the higher branches.

"Sensei," Midoriya ventured, "How long have you been there?"

The pro looked his way, eyes impassive as he answered, "Since two."

Ignoring the look of annoyance sent his way by Bakugo, Aizawa leapt from his perch, landing silently on the pavement in front of them.

"It's good that you're all here early," he stated. "There are a couple of things I want to go over before we leave. First off, why you five are joining me on this mission. Todoroki, Bakugo, you both missed your opportunity for work study when you had to retake the provisional license exam. This won't make up for it completely, but it will be a chance for you to operate in a professional setting. You three," he turned his gaze towards Izuku, Uraraka, and Kirishima, "you all performed admirably during the fight against the Eight Precepts, but you still have things to improve on."

His gaze turned solely on Izuku, "You still lose control under pressure. I want you to keep yourself regulated during this mission." Izuku nodded as the teacher turned to Uraraka.

"Your physical endurance still needs work. And Kirishima, you need to learn to fight without relying on brute force." Looking over them and seeing the determination each held in their eyes, he continued. "That said, I expect all of you to behave like professionals. We'll go over the current intelligence and battle plan while we travel. Let's go."

* * *

1:00 PM - Monday

It had been a rather mundane day, overcast with steady wind that made the small shack creak and groan about them. The shack was a simple wooden structure with a single room. Two bedrolls were placed against one wall while a simple bed was placed on the wall opposite. A single table and chair was placed in the corner near the bed, bearing a small box of jewelry and a few stacks of bound paper bills placed. Across from the door was a stone fireplace with an iron cooking pot hanging over it. Standing over the pot, lazily stirring the contents was a person in wearing a long jacket with a hood pulled up over his head.

"Oi, Bug Spray," a gruff voice called from one of the bed rolls. "How much longer till lunch's ready?"

The man at the pot let go of the ladle and turned, forming a series of signs with his hands. The owner of the gruff voice stared blankly at him.

"Quiet down, Goliath," a dark haired woman chided from her place on the bed. "You know you can't understand him, so why do you bother?"

"So he knows I'm waiting, Somnus!" Goliath snapped back.

"Don't get snippy with me!" she shot back.

"I'll get however I want!" he spat, oblivious to the placating gestures Bug Spray was trying to make.

The sound of a couple of soft knocks at the door instantly silenced the bickering villains. They rose cautiously, stepping back from the door. Their bodys were tensed as their eyes and ears strained for information. Their little shack was located in a small clearing on the slope of a mountain. It wasn't as if the girl scouts made regular visits.

Bug spray began to move forward to listen at the door when the wall behind them exploded inward. They turned swiftly, shielding their faces against the flying splinters. They saw red eyes and a manic grin. With a shout of "DIE!" Aizawa's plan was put into motion.

Bakugo initiated his stun grenade technique, releasing a non-damaging blast of light and sound. His targets were stunned, but they still acted on instinct. A wave of darkness engulfed him, forcing him to pull back as the sound of cracking wood filled the air around him. Propelling himself backward with a few quick blasts, he saw Goliath, now grown to full height, still rubbing his eyes as he stepped forward.

With only a single stride, the giant was halfway across the clearing. Bakugo grinned as Goliath put distance between himself and the darkness user. He took another step, attempting to stomp down on Bakugo, but as his foot came down, it failed to impact the ground. Instead, it slid through the air as he felt a slight sting on his cheek. Uravity fell past him, grinning through her nausea as the giant took flight. He reached out to swat her, but pale cloth wrapped around her and pulled her out of reach as he felt his size diminish against his will.

"Let me down!" He shouted in frustration.

Uraraka sighed in relief as the strain on her quirk diminished with the man's weight. Her relief was short lived, however, as a swarm of insects burst from the darkness, swiftly covering the clearing and obstructing their view. She felt the nausea return as quickly as it had left as Aizawa's quirk lost its hold. Her visor protected her face from the swarm, but if it managed to reach her, she would be in trouble.

She felt the temperature drop rapidly, then the air ignited. Brilliant flames erupted through the clearing, consuming the swarm in an instant and revealing the ring of ice that protected the surrounding forest from the conflagration. Another swarm erupted as quickly as the first and was summarily suppressed as the Todoroki and Bug Spray held a stalemate. Their struggle lasted only a moment. The bugs stopped suddenly, and a moment later, Kirishima emerged from the shack, and unconscious Bug Spray cuffed and draped over his shoulder.

He hurriedly deposited him next to Bakugo as Aizawa snatched the now falling Goliath from the air and cuffed him. With the two offensive types restrained, they turned their attention to the bubble of darkness still in the shack. A tense moment passed as neither side made a move. Then the darkness faded.

Aizawa raised a hand in a cautioning gesture. He stepped forward, eyes watching carefully as Bakugo and Kirishima followed behind. He stepped through the gaping hole in the wall and glanced about. The shack was empty and the front door was hanging open.

* * *

Somnus raced nimbly through the forest. Branches rushed past her face as her lungs sucked in the air needed to keep her legs moving. The pros were getting pretty sloppy if they thought a few students could catch her. Still, she hadn't expected her cohorts to be dispatched so easily. She'd have to find a better crew once she managed to slip back below the radar.

A sliver of motion caught the corner of her eye, a flash of green that didn't belong to the forest. She turned to intercept, a mote of darkness already springing from her hand. A flash of green light was all she saw as a voice shouted, "Eight percent, SMASH!" Her vision flashed white and faded into darkness.

* * *

The ice was steadily withdrawing from the edges of the clearing as Izuku emerged from the forest carrying the bound and unconscious Somnus. Aizawa had predicted she would rather run than fight given the nature of her quirk. All that remained was to pick her escape route. If they attacked opposite the front door, that was the best escape route to avoid being seen. So that was the route he had watched, patrolling from the treetops until he had found his target.

"Oh, Deku!" Uraraka called out as he came into sight of his teammates.

"Midoriya!" Kirishima greeted excitedly. "You caught her!"

"Yeah, it was just like Aizawa-sensei said," he answered, setting his quarry next to her teammates.

Aizawa checked the restraints, making sure their countermeasures were in place if any of them tried to use their quirks, then turned to his students. "Good work, all of you. That went about as smoothly as it could have. We need to get moving now if we're going to make our rendezvous with the police at the base of the mountain. They'll probably wait, but it's not rational to keep them waiting."

They gathered up the fallen villains, taking turns carrying them back down the mountain. As Izuku reflected on the short skirmish, he thought that it was a good thing nothing had gone wrong.

Two hours later, he was regretting his thought. Surely that had been what jinxed them. Then again, knowing their luck, when had things ever gone as planned. They were trudging through knee deep snow, a sudden snowstorm having surprised them. He knew such flurries weren't uncommon in the mountains, but this was beginning to become a full on blizzard.

"We need to find shelter!" Todoroki called out over the wind. His flames were rising from his left side, licking hungrily at the air. The heat he was giving off was sheltering the for now, but the sweat staining his brow showed how quickly he was reaching his limit.

"There was a structure around here when we were climbing up," Aizawa stated, recognizing the problem. "It's too hard to see through this snow. Bakugo, search the area around us for it and alert us with an explosion if you find it. Todoroki will signal with his flames periodically to let you know where we are."

Bakugo ran off into the snow without a word. His face was screwed up in a mask of determination as he felt the bitter cold biting into his exposed skin. Behind, Uraraka and Kirishima had huddled closer to Todoroki for warmth, while Izuku kept watch over the villains.

"Sensei," the green haired boy spoke into the relative silence about them. "Are you sure, he should be going out alone? If something happens, we won't be able to find him."

"If something happens, he'll signal us," his teacher responded. "Have a little more faith in your classmate."

As if on queue, an explosion sounded from somewhere off to their right.

"Follow me," Aizawa ordered.

They made their way in the direction of the sound, occasionally correcting their course with the help of another explosion from Bakugo. It took only about five minutes from the time he had first signalled them, ten from the time he had left, for the group to find the location. It was a run down forest lodge. A wide wrap around porch separated the entry from the forest floor. Many of the windows were broken, but the two story, wood edifice was better than the open air. They quickly hurried inside.

Once inside, Todoroki froze the broken windows, sealing out the wind. The lodge was divided into two sections. The main level consisted of a wide commons room with a number of tables and chairs. A large, stone fireplace was situated in the center of the inner wall, currently dark and cold.

A door from the common room led to a large kitchen. Despite the apparent age of the structure, it was composed of surprisingly modern appliances: steel countertops, steel refrigerator/freezer, steel sink. Upon inspecting the cabinets, Kirishima confirmed that no food had been left behind. Not that it would have been edible anyway.

A set of stairs facing the entryway led to the second floor where a long hallway stretched the length of the building. A number of doors opened off of the hallway into separate rooms. What furniture was left in them was worthless except for firewood. They quickly gathered it up.

A single door was left locked next to the stairs. They left it untouched.

They gathered in the common room. Todoroki worked on arranging the spare wood to set a fire in the fireplace. Aizawa situated their now conscious captives in the center of the room.

"We should be safe here for the time being," he said, taking in the room again. "We'll rest in shifts. Once the storm passes, we'll need to leave immediately. Uraraka, Kirishima, you're on first watch with me. The rest of you, get some sleep while you can."

Izuku didn't argue. Neither did his classmates. They hadn't packed any sort of camping supplies, so they each found a section of floor to settle on, trying to ignore the grumbling of their empty stomachs. Within five minutes, all three of them were asleep.

* * *

Izuku drifted in darkness as his dreams flashed by, each to fast for his mind to grasp onto. Places he had never seen, faces he recognized, all disappeared in an incoherent jumble. But in each of them was a light. A strange, green light periodically flashed, driving the images away, and every time it flashed a voice would reach out. He strained to hear it, but it was disjoint and distorted. "...mber…..ku….De…..Deku!"

Izuku shot awake, feeling a hand carefully shaking his shoulder. Uraraka knelt over him, concern lining her face, but she held a finger to her lips. Her eyes were alight with something he couldn't place.

He glanced about the room and saw that the others were already awake, staring steadfastly toward the door. Their faces were drawn. Tense. And then Izuku understood what he had seen in Uraraka's eyes. Fear. Something had them afraid. Searching the room, he saw the villains still bound, their eyes full of curiosity, fear, or indifference. Aizawa was not among them.

"Uraraka, what's going on?" he asked in a hushed voice, standing quickly. He glanced at his watch: 9:57 PM.

"About fifteen minutes ago, we started to hear strange noises outside," she answered, keeping her voice low. "There was knocking on the walls. It was too regular to be the wind, so Aizawa-sensei went out to check on it, but that was ten minutes ago."

Izuku kept his expression as calm as he could, fixing a determined gaze at the front door where Bakugo and Todoroki were stationed. The ashy haired student was tense, his sneer replaced with a deep frown as he listened.

"Bakugo?" Todoroki asked as his classmate reached for the door handle.

"Shut up," he answered. "He's been gone too long."

The lodge groaned loudly as a blast of wind battered its sides. Bakugo steadily opened the door as Izuku came up behind him, peering out. The wind was blowing full force, driving snow across the landscape beyond their firelight in a white sheet that refused to yield. They stood there, hesitant to step out, but not wanting to leave their teacher to whatever peril awaited outside.

A figure appeared from the darkness, indistinct in the poor light. It was moving toward them.

"Aizawa-sen-?" Izuku's question was cut short as Bakugo slammed the door.

"Todoroki!" Bakugo shouted. "Seal it!"

Todoroki hesitated for a moment, before conjuring a wall of ice to seal the door.

"Kacchan!" Izuku protested. "What about Aizawa-sensei?"

"Shut it, Deku! That wasn't Aizawa."

As if to emphasize his pointed, the door shuddered as if struck, the icy covering cracking with the force, forcing Todoroki to brace it again. The door shook again. Again. Then as quickly as it had started, it stopped. Then a knock sounded on the wall.

Uraraka yelped, hands latching onto Izuku's shoulders instinctively as she hissed, "That's what we heard." Under normal circumstances, he might have been flustered by the contact, but right now, his senses were dialed in, focusing. He felt her hands leave his shoulders as she took a ready stance next to him. Todoroki kept his right hand raised, ready to shore up any breach made by whoever was out there.

Another knock sounded farther down the wall. Then another, moving away from them. Then it stopped. They held their breath, waiting. The building groaned in the wind. Everything went quiet.

"We need to find Aizawa-sens-" Kirishima was cut off by a low whisper from the shadows.

"Welcome," it said.

Bakugo whirled, releasing an explosion in its direction. The shadows were briefly dispelled by brilliant light that revealed nothing but empty air.

"What the hell?" he muttered, face stretching as his sense focused on finding his prey.

"You don't understand yet, do you?" the voice spoke again from the same direction. "You're trespassers now, so I suppose you wouldn't," it continued from the opposite direction. The students turned quickly, tracking the voice, searching for its source in vain.

"This is my house now," it continued, shifting locations again. "I don't like trespassers."

"Oi, it's a pretty run down house anyway!" Bakugo called back. "What kind of loser would want to live here!?"

The voice was silent for a moment. "I want you dead," it answered. They all felt a chill run down their spine as the lodge groaned, this time without wind. "I want you all dead, but I'll settle for one. Kill one of you, and all the others get to live. I only need one," it taunted, as the students set their faces into stony expressions of defiance. Unwilling to be intimidated by a mere voice from the shadows.

At its next words, however, Izuku felt his blood run cold, and Bakugo's eyes widened in shock that went uncomprehended by their classmates.

"If you want to live, you just have to give me One for All."


	2. Divide and Conquer

_**Hey all**_

 _ **I probably should have mentioned last chapter that this is set after the Gentle Arc in the manga. If you haven't reached that point, then expect minor spoilers, but I will do my best to not reference too many specific events unless they are necessary.**_

 _ **Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed. Feedback is always appreciated, and I enjoy seeing your speculations.**_

 _ **I hope you all continue to enjoy the story.**_

* * *

10:00 PM - Monday

"Give you...One for All?"

Izuku could barely manage to raise his voice above a whisper, not daring to believe the words the intruder had spoken. Was it a coincidence? A turn of a phrase? Or did this person know about his secret? Whatever the answer, the voice did not give it.

"Oi!" Bakugo shouted into the silence. "Don't tell me you're out of breath already!"

They waited, forming up in a tight circle facing outward. A few moments passed in silence. Then Kirishima spoke what was already on all of their minds.

"What the heck was the that?"

"I don't know," Todoroki answered, right hand still resting on the front door.

"It sounded like he was in here with us," Izuku pointed out. "But if he could just come in whenever he wanted, why did he bother attacking the door?"

"You think it was a distraction?" Uraraka asked.

"'Course not," Bakugo hissed. "He was just sizing us up."

Izuku nodded. "It's possible he has an illusion type quirk that lets him make his voice appear in other places."

"Then how did he manage to take out Aizawa-sensei?" Kirishima pointed out.

"We don't know that he did," Todoroki countered. "It could be that he used his quirk to lead Aizawa-sensei away while he circled back around to us."

"Like that would work," Bakugo shot back.

Izuku couldn't argue against him. Against a pro of Aizawa's level, simple tricks wouldn't be effective for any significant amount of time. There had to be more to it than that. If he were to take the entity's words at face value, however, the situation became even more dangerous. If this person knew about the existence of One for All and was not only willing to kill them for it, but confident that he could, then the situation could be at least as dangerous as their first trip to USJ.

A faint chuckling from the common room snapped him out of his thoughts. They met each others' eyes and left the foyer. Returning to the common room, they were met by Somnus' dark gaze. Her eyes were wide, and a derisive smile stretched her face.

"Something funny?" Bakugo spat.

"Are the widdle kiddies scared without their babysitter?" she mocked.

"What was that?"

Kirishima hooked one arm around Bakugo's, restraining the explosive student from lunging at the villain. She just continued chuckling.

"You heard him, didn't you?" she prodded. "We kill one, or he kills us all. So what will you do, 'heroes'?"

"What are you trying to accomplish?" Todoroki asked, keeping his voice level.

Somnus turned her dark gaze to him, seemingly disappointed at his forthrightness.

"If Eraserhead was taken out by this guy, you'll need help," she answered, nodding at her two compatriots.

"No," Izuku spoke up.

"No?" she demanded. "So what are you going to do? Lie down and die?"

He couldn't help but flinch at that, the voice's demands running back through his head. "Give me One for All." He couldn't do that though. Besides, he had no reason to trust the owner of the voice to keep his word. Still, the situation was beginning to fog his mind.

"No one's dying tonight," Uraraka spoke up, saving him from answering. Her brow was set and her gaze steady as she glared back at Somnus. "We're all getting out of here, and we're turning you over to the police." She gestured to the others to follow her back to the foyer then turned to Izuku. "What's the plan?"

He met her gaze. It was confident. She was confident that he had already worked out a strategy to get them out of this. He noticed Todoroki and Kirishima watching him expectantly as well, and the fog began to clear from his mind. They trusted him. He refused to let them down. He placed a hand on his chin and faced the floor as a plan began to take shape.

"We don't know enough about this person's quirk to form a battle plan," he began, "so we should try to avoid combat unless we have no other choice, fortifying the building should be our top priority. We also need to find Aizawa-sensei. He won't last long in that weather. Todoroki, Kacchan," he addressed, turning his gaze up to meet theirs in turn. "Your quirks are best suited for searching in this environment. You should coordinate a sweep of the area for Aizawa-sensei, but try to avoid battle if you can. Uraraka and I will sweep the lodge to fortify any other entrances while Kirishima guards the villains."

"I'm not interested in hiding," Bakugo spat, though Izuku noticed there was less venom in his words than he had probably intended.

"I am inclined to think the same," Todoroki nodded. "But Midoriya has a point. Our lack of intel puts us at a disadvantage."

"And how exactly are we supposed to fix that if we just hide and wait for him to come to us!?"

"Aizawa-sensei," Kirishima interjected. "If he's made contact with this guy, then he'll have intel we can use to fight back."

Izuku nodded in agreement. "Once we know more, we can decide if this is someone we can fight. For now, our priority is making sure everyone makes it out alive."

Bakugo scoffed, but didn't argue further. Taking that as an agreement, Todoroki moved toward the door, thawing it out with his left hand.

"You'll need to seal this behind us," he said. "I won't be around to fix the ice if it's broken or melted."

"Got it," Uraraka nodded in response, moving back to the common room.

"Hang on, I'll help!" Kirishima called out, following her.

"I don't like this," Bakugo spoke, keeping his voice low so that only Izuku could hear him. "We'll go with your plan for now, Deku. But if that guy meant what I think he did, it's safer outside."

He moved away without waiting for a response. None was needed. They both understood the risk well enough. Bakugo took up a position behind Todoroki as the latter finished thawing out the door.

"We'll make this quick," he said, pulling the door open and racing through. Bakugo was only a step behind. They descended the steps and split off, one going left, the other going right. Izuku quickly shut the door behind them as Kirishima returned from the common area, dragging now floating tables behind him. They arranged the tables to form a line, bracing the door by connecting it to the opposite wall.

"I'll take care of the upstairs," Izuku said, looking to Uraraka. "You finish fortifying down here."

She nodded her understanding, and he summoned up his power. The green lightning surrounded his body as he turned to the stairs, cleared them in a single leap, and began moving from room to room, working to make sure their place of shelter was secured.

* * *

10:08 PM - Monday

Uraraka worked quickly, taking advantage of her quirk to rearrange the furniture and appliances to block off the windows and doors to the common area and kitchen. She estimated the fridge, being a steel, industrial model, weighed a few hundred pounds. Combined with a table from the common room, it made an excellent barricade for the back door out of the kitchen. She checked the door before blocking it. The thick layer of dust around it showed that it hadn't been used recently.

Satisfied with her work, she returned to the common room. She heard the creaking of the boards above her head, an indication that Izuku was still working. She took a seat near the fire, giving a wide berth to the villains at the center of the room. They hadn't attempted to speak to any of them since the confrontation earlier, but she noticed that they would occasionally whisper to each other. They had brought along restraints for their mouths, but she would rather not use them if they weren't necessary.

As another creak sounded from above, her thoughts drifted toward its source. She hadn't missed the look on his face when the voice had spoken. It was surprise. She had expected that. She had also been surprised to hear the demand, but the anxiety that accompanied it was unexpected. She had seen him face villains without hesitation, and even when scared he would wear a shaky smile. He hadn't been smiling though. His wide eyes had been frantic, like a cornered animal. She didn't like that look.

Knowing him, there was a reason for it. Either he had noticed something they hadn't, or he knew something they didn't. She didn't like the idea of it, but she also knew that if it was something they needed to know, he would tell them. She would trust him.

"You okay?" Kirishima asked, approaching from the foyer.

"Yeah, just thinking," she answered with a sheepish grin. She hoped it didn't look too forced.

"Don't blame you," Kirishima replied. "This isn't exactly how I saw the day going."

"No kidding. One minute we're studying like our lives depend on it, the next we're stranded in a storm with some madman on the loose."

Kirishima nodded, frowning slightly. "Yeah, I hope those two manage to find sensei."

"They will. Those two don't know how to accept defeat."

Kirishima grinned back at her, "Ya got that right!"

They turned back to the foyer as the sound of footsteps reached their ears. Izuku walked through the doorway, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow.

"The upstairs is secure," he said. "There's a pretty big hole in the ceiling of the back room though. I had to seal the whole thing off."

"We shouldn't need to go in there anyway," Uraraka commented. "By the way, did it look like anyone had been in there?"

Izuku shook his head. "A lot of snow had piled up from outside. Even if someone had passed through, their tracks would probably be covered by now."

She nodded, accepting his answer. He moved to join them by the fire, tossing another scrap of wood onto the coals. With only a little prodding the fire grew and they all let the heat wash out some of the tension from their shoulders.

The lodge groaned above them, defying the brief lull in the wind and bringing their attention to the ceiling. The sound stopped after a moment, but the tension had returned. They found themselves eyeing every shadow, ears straining for the telltale sound of knocking or the voice. They heard nothing but the wind outside, beginning to pick back up, and the crackling of the fire.

A beat passed. Then another. The tension began to leave their shoulders.

Knock!

The sound penetrated the stillness, spurring them to readiness in an instant. Izuku called upon One for All, wreathing himself in its power as emerald arcs of electricity raced from his body. He turned toward the foyer, where the sound had come from. He felt a pressure at his back and looked to see that Uraraka had placed her back to his, facing the kitchen, hands raised in a ready stance unique to Gunhead's particular form of martial arts. Kirishima took up a position to their side, facing the room. His skin was jagged, showing that his quirk had activated.

They waited a moment for any indication as to the source of the knock. Somnus chuckled from her position, eyes already alight with derisive glee. She went silent a moment later.

Knock! Knock!

This time along the far wall Kirishima was facing. The glee in Somnus' eyes faded as she craned her neck to see over Goliath who was currently positioned between her and the wall. The students didn't move. They held their position, not willing to let anything slip past their gaze.

They might have stood there for only a few minutes, but it felt to them like hours as they waited in the near silence. The knock did not return. Izuku couldn't help but wonder if the stranger was simply taunting them or if he was trying to find a way in. It seemed silly for him to alert his targets to his position.

A soft creak sounded from the foyer, low and long. The sound of a door opening. This time, they all turned their eyes toward the sound. Izuku held his hand up, indicating that the others should remain where they were. He tread softly toward the foyer, his eyes wide and darting, searching for any source of movement, and his ears straining for the slightest sound accompanying it.

As he stood in the doorway connecting the common room to the foyer, he saw the front door, still held fast by their makeshift barricade. The door next to the stairs, however, arrested his attention. He was certain it had been locked, but now it was standing open. The faint light from the common room showed a slight downward slant into deeper darkness beyond. A quick survey, showed the foyer was still unoccupied.

His eyes turned back to the open door. It could be that someone had come up from the basement and moved up the stairs, but he couldn't be sure. His gaze focused beyond the open door, attempting to pierce the darkness there. As if in defiance, the darkness seemed to deepen and grow. The firelight seemed to diminish. He faintly heard Uraraka and Kirishima calling his name as his vision went black.

* * *

It was cold. When they got back to the bottom of the mountain, Bakugo was going to make sure to have his costume modified for use in cold weather. Thankfully, the stress was allowing him to sweat anyway.

He passed through a stand of trees, a welcome shelter from the wind. His sight was obscured by the snow, and his hearing was impaired by the wind. How he was expected to find their teacher in these conditions, he wasn't sure, but he'd be dead before he came back empty handed.

Trudging on, the wind seemed to only strengthen, forming a wall of frigid air about him. The trees were bowing beneath the strain and off to his right, a branch cracked. He could vaguely see its shape as it fell. He froze there, every warning bell in his head was ringing. He saw a glint of red in the darkness by the tree, hovering at least two meters off the ground.. The red moved and another branch snapped.

In the darkness, he couldn't make out any shape, but for now, it didn't appear to be moving toward him. He held his breath, trying to decide on his course of action. He was out here to save his teacher. Until he knew his location, he couldn't risk firing off any large explosions. On the other hand, if there was someone out here with a strength type quirk, it would explain why their teacher had run into trouble. For now, the choice was to either fight or hide.

The choice was taken from him a moment later when the red glare turned, showing him two points of luminescence. The two points, he understood immediately, were eyes. Eyes that were looking right at him. A terrible roar broke through the howling wind and whatever it was moved toward him.

"Bad idea," Bakugo hissed out, raising his hands. Light sprang from his palms, temporarily blinding them both as it reflected off the snow and drove away the night about them. Bakugo took the opportunity to roll to his left. Just in time it seemed, a blast of air buffeted him as the light died down. He rolled again and felt the tremor of an impact where he had been a moment before.

"Stun grenade," he growled, raising his hands again as a blast of light and sound echoed across the clearing, driving back the shadows. He winced slightly, but this time held his eyes open as they adjusted. He saw now that he was surrounded by broken trees. The windblown snow was blasted back by the force of the explosion. He saw a small crater in the snowy forest floor where the last attack had landed.

That was all he saw, however. His assailant remained invisible to him. He waited, watching for any sign of movement, listening for any sound. Nothing stirred but the wind. He waited, but whatever had attacked him refused to show itself.

"Scared of the light?" he wondered aloud. "That makes it easy then."

He decreased his output to a maintainable level, holding a small stream of explosions in his hand like a torch. He turned in the direction the thing had come from, deciding to follow its path of destruction. With any luck, he'd find his teacher at the end of it.

* * *

Todoroki's search had been largely uneventful. The swift falling snow had quickly erased any signs of passage that he might have used to find their missing teacher. Instead, he had been forced to make use of his left side, letting the flames burn low to light the area about him. Even with the benefit of light, he had been unable to find anything.

He wasn't sure if he should be grateful or concerned when he heard the explosion. If Bakugo had managed to find Aizawa, that was surely how he would signal to him. The second explosion cemented his concern, however. One would be enough to call him back. Two could only mean he had run into trouble.

He turned back the way he came, darting between the trees. The thick pines cast long shadows that tempted his eyes to follow their movement as he passed. A deep sense of unease began to take root in his heart. Thinking logically, if this villain was out here with them, then why had he not made a move against him? He had certainly made himself visible enough already, so why go after Bakugo?

The sounds of explosions had ceased, so maybe he had overreacted, but he couldn't be sure until he found his classmate. Without further sounds to guide him, he continued to run in the direction he had heard the sounds to begin with. After a few minutes, he came upon a small clearing. The trees all had branches snapped clean. Some were scarred with burn marks, while others had their bark stripped away.

He paused here, searching. There was no sign of anyone else in the clearing with him. He turned his eyes downward, scanning the ground for signs of passage. The snow had begun to fill in the area, but it was still recently disturbed. It took only a minute for him to locate a set of prints leading away from the clearing. Whether they belonged to Bakugo or not was irrelevant. If it was Bakugo that had walked away, he was following a lead to Aizawa. If it was the villain, then he had likely taken Bakuo with him.

He set out quickly, letting the wind drown out the sound of his footsteps as he ran. More than once a passing shadow appeared in his peripheral vision, causing him to tense in anticipation of an attack that never came. He had been running for about five minutes when something caught his eye, a glint of green metal. He pulled up, taking in the sight before him.

Bakugo stood at the base of a tree, looking up into the branches. There, some five meters off the ground, suspended by his own capture tools, was their teacher. There was a nasty bruise across the right side of his face. He looked down at them with half lidded eyes.

"Oi, 'bout time you got here, Half-n-Half," Bakugo greeted, turning to his classmate.

"Sorry, took some time to find you," he replied.

"Whatever, just get him down. I gotta make sure that thing doesn't sneak up on us."

"Thing?" Todoroki asked, raising his right hand an summoning a platform of ice to carry him up to his teacher.

"Like I know," Bakugo spat. He explained briefly his encounter with the thing in the dark, including its hasty retreat when faced with a source of light. As he spoke, Todoroki worked at untangling his teacher's limbs from the restraints. It was slow going with no tools to cut through the tough material. The man's injuries weren't as severe as he had feared, but they weren't going to go away overnight. Up close, he could see that his right eye was nearly swollen shut. His jaw was similarly swollen. He resorted to supporting Aizawa's weight with ice while he broke the branches the cords were wrapped around. After a few minutes of work, he was on his way back down, supporting Aizawa's weight with one shoulder.

"Where are the others?" Aizawa asked as they reached the ground. His voice was ragged and slightly slurred.

"Back at the lodge," Todoroki answered as Bakugo took point, leading them back in that direction.

"We need to hurry," Aizawa spoke, forcing more strength into his legs. Todoroki let him stand on his own but stayed close enough to help if needed.

"What were you able to learn?" he asked.

"Not much," the pro admitted. "I was jumped almost as soon as I got out here. Whoever this is was waiting for me. Which means he wanted me away from the lodge."

Todoroki nodded, "That would match what happened to us."

Aizawa gave him a questioning look, and Todoroki explained the sudden arrival of the voice and its demands. Aizawa let him speak, interrupting twice for clarification. As he spoke, the teacher increased their pace, drawing on some unseen reserve of strength. Nothing accosted them, and after a few minutes of travel the lodge was in sight.

Todoroki approached the door, knocking three times, then twice, then four times. Aizawa had taught them the pattern before the mission as a simple way to identify themselves without speaking. They waited for a few moments. No one answered. He knocked again, calling out for his friends on the inside to open the door, to no avail.

"Move," Bakugo growled, shoving past him. He placed his hands against the door, attempting to force it open. It gave an inch, then stopped. No light came from the interior. Todoroki summoned the flames from his left, and Aizawa took up a ready stance. Bakugo let loose a powerful blast from both hands, blasting the door from its hinges and destroying whatever had wedged it shut.

They poured into the foyer, quickly taking stock of the situation inside. In the dim firelight they could see broken and splintered furniture scattered about the entryway. Moving to the common room, they found it empty and dark. Dim coals still glowed faintly in the fireplace. Bakugo moved back to the foyer, making his way toward the stairs to check the upper level. As he passed, he noticed the side door. It was shattered, broken inward as if struck by a sledgehammer.

"Sensei," he heard Todoroki speak up from the common room. He returned, curious as to what he had found. In the middle of the room, sitting open were three sets of handcuffs.

"The villains are loose," Aizawa growled. "And the others are missing."

"Actually," Bakugo interjected. "I think I know where they are."

* * *

Ten minutes earlier

Uraraka wasn't sure what she had seen. One second, Izuku was standing in the doorway, the next, the foyer had gone dark and he was gone. She called after him, racing to the foyer, but he wasn't there. Instead, she saw the door to the basement hanging open as if to taunt her.

Kirishima was only a couple of steps behind her, eyes wide in shock. "What just happened?"

"Round two," a voice answered. It was soft-spoken, but deep in tone. It was the same as before. The two semi-pros turned quickly, searching in vain for its source. "The game is too stale right now," it continued. "Let's liven things up, shall we?"

They heard a series of soft clicks behind them. Turning, they saw the villains, wide eyed in surprise, moving their now unbound limbs. They turned toward the students, grins beginning to spread over the faces of Somnus and Goliath.

"Now, the game is fair," the voice spoke again. All eyes lit with understanding. Whatever "game" this villain wanted to play now had at least two teams.

"Kirishima!" Uraraka shouted as she vaulted the barricade of tables between them and the basement.

"Got it!" he called out, following after her. As he cleared the tables, he turned, taking advantage of their now weightless state to toss them back toward the common room.

"Release!" shouted Uraraka, bringing her hands together. The tables held their trajectory as gravity reasserted its control and slammed into the doorway connecting the foyer and the common room. The makeshift barricade wouldn't hold long, but they only needed a moment.

Uraraka raced to the basement door, stopping on the first step as Kirishima followed after her.

"You sure about this?" he asked as she shut the door behind them, sliding a deadbolt into place.

"It'll buy us some time at least," she answered, pulling a small flashlight from her belt. "Besides, you saw what happened. Deku is probably down here too."

"We can hope, at least," came the response as she descended the stairs, a faint light diving into a sea of darkness as the dull sound of blows striking wood echoed dully above them.

* * *

 _ **Next time: Shining a Light**_


	3. Shining a Light

**Hello again!**

 **Thank you all for continuing to support the story, and thanks to all the new followers, favorites, and reviews.**

 **I hope you all continue to enjoy the story. :)**

* * *

10:45 PM - Monday

A splitting pain lanced through his head. His ears were ringing. He couldn't see. He raised a hand to his face, stretching his eyelids to be sure they were open. They were, but he felt something wet running down the side of his head. The pain wasn't getting any better. Was he concussed? Would he be able to think about it if he was? He wasn't sure. He decided to run through his basic information just to be safe.

Name: Midoriya Izuku

Birthday: July 15

Quirk: One for All

Occupation: Student

Current Location: …

He paused, struggling for a moment to remember where he was. Then it came back to him. The threatening demand, the captured villains, the open door. His breathing quickened, and he fought to stay calm. He couldn't remember how he had gotten...wherever he was or where his friends were now. With any luck, they were still holding out, safe for the moment, but he didn't even know how long he'd been out.

Fumbling with his belt for a moment, he found the pouch he was searching for. Extracting the desired piece of equipment, he pressed a button on its side. His eyes stung suddenly as bright light filled his vision. He winced, feeling the pain in his head intensify, and turned the light away taking in his surroundings.

He was in a long, concrete corridor. Iron pipes ran the length of the wall opposite where he had been resting, disappearing into the darkness in either direction. Looking down, he saw the dusty floor was stained with some dark substance. He reached his hand out to feel it but held back. Something glistened on his glove. Blood. His blood. He reached up, feeling along his head for the injury. A gash, about eight centimeters in length, was open just below the hairline on the right side of his face.

Wincing as the touch irritated the inflamed flesh, he opened another pouch on his belt and pulled out an antiseptic cream and an adhesive patch. Applying them quickly, he waited only a moment before standing. It was a trying effort that sent the room about him spinning. He set his jaw, drawing his lips into a hard line, and willed the spinning to stop. It did after a moment. He must have hit his head harder than he thought.

He pressed a hand to his ear and sighed in relief when he felt his comm unit still there. He pressed the button to activate it. Static filled his ear for a brief moment before falling to a soft hiss indicating the device was active.

"Hello?" he spoke, voice echoing harshly off the hard walls. No response came. He wasn't sure what else he expected given his surroundings, but it was worth the try. He opted to leave the device active, just in case he got close enough to someone to catch a signal. For now, he had to pick a direction.

He slowed his breathing and waited, searching out for any currents in the air. He felt only stillness all about. Wherever he was was sealed off from the outside world. Given the pipes, he wondered if he wasn't near a boiler room. Probably beneath the lodge either way. If it came down to it, he could break out through the ceiling, but he would rather not risk bringing the lodge down on his friends if he came out at the wrong spot. Better to search for the exit. Sighing in resignation, he placed one hand on the wall to steady himself as he ventured down the tunnel to his left. He only hoped it would lead him out.

* * *

The basement landing was not what Kirishima had expected. Granted, he didn't know what he had been expecting. The pale beam from Uraraka's flashlight cast eerie shadows as it passed over rows of iron framed shelves. There were many clouded jars lining the shelves, with dusty cobwebs sporadically interspersed among them. The splintering of wood sounded from above, echoing off the concrete walls about them and drawing their attention back the way they had come. Their pursuers weren't taking a break. Locking eyes with Uraraka, she mouthed one word to him. Hide.

Wasting no time, they took cover behind the shelves, placing whatever debris they could find between themselves and the aisle. Once they were still, Uraraka killed the light. They waited there in darkness, scarcely breathing as they heard the door above finally crack. Silence followed for a moment only to be broken by Somus' voice.  
"Bug Spray," she spoke. "Where are they?"

Insead of an answering voice as they expected, the air was filled with the sound of hundreds of buzzing insects. They swept down the stairs, heedless of the darkness, and settled like a blanket over the room. Kirishima placed a hand over his nose and mouth as he felt them begin to crawl over his skin. It took all of his self control not to start swatting at them.

Then the blanket lifted as one, swarming back the way they had come. The buzzing grew quieter, but it didn't stop altogether. After a moment, they heard the creaking of wood as the villains made their way down the stairs.

The buzzing was now a soft drone, drifting steadily to his right, not three meters away. Even less distance from Uraraka. He tensed, calling up his quirk as he readied himself for action.

"You sure about this?" Somnus questioned. Again no answer came.

"Bah!" Goliath shouted. "Let's just get moving. The rabbits are probably getting away!"

"Assuming there's another exit from this place," Somnus pointed out. "Besides, I don't think our game master wants anyone leaving…."

There was a hint of distaste in her voice as she spoke about their mysterious attacker.

"Whatever," Goliath spat. "Let's just get after them. I don't feel like dying tonight."

His words were followed by the sound of screeching hinges as they opened another door. The buzzing retreated for a moment before the sound of screeching sounded again followed by the click of a latch. They waited another moment, not daring to believe their luck. When they heard no other sounds, they began to move.

Kirishima squinted as Uraraka turned her light back on, revealing the door they had missed in their hurry.

"I was sure they'd found us," he spoke, still keeping his voice down.

She nodded in agreement, a thoughtful look on her face as she swept her light about the room again. He followed the light, not wanting to miss something so important again. As it turned out, there was another door at the back left of the room. It was closed. Uraraka walked up to it, crouching down just before she reached it. She shined her light on the ground at its base.

"It's been opened recently," she said after a moment.

"How can you tell?" he asked, stooping down to look with her.

"This mark," she answered, pointing at a wide arc that had been traced through the dust from the base of the door to the wall.

"You think Midoriya came through here?"

"I'm not sure," she replied, brow screwed up in concentration. "If he did, I don't know why he would have unless he was forced to."

"It didn't exactly look like he meant to come down here in the first place," he pointed out.

"Good point," she acknowledged, frowning. "I think this is the direction we need to go."

"Agreed."

She tried the door. Locked.

He walked up, taking a look at the hinges as Uraraka moved the light to a better position. They were rusted. Without a word, he wrapped one hand around the bottom hinge and swung his other down. Hardened skin met oxidized iron. With a muffled snap, the hinge broke free. They waited for a moment. There was no indication that anyone had heard. Moving quickly, he snapped the other hinge in the same manner. The door slid downward, tilting about the latch only momentarily before he pulled it free.

The room beyond was more what he had expected before. The room was about three meters deep and no less dusty than the last. It was crammed full of dusty furniture, some covered in now stained, white sheets, the rest covered in old cobwebs. Several tall stacks of chairs occupied the far left corner. A line of tables filled the left wall. Crates were scattered about the room haphazardly.

As they entered, he leaned the door back against its frame. He began to move inward, eyes trained on the next door. He was stopped after two steps by a hand on his wrist. He looked back in confusion to see Uraraka looking past him. He followed her gaze and saw the glint of a silvery thread barely visible in the low light. His eyes followed the thread less than a meter when he saw its source. A black spider as large as his hand had spun a web across the width of the room. He wasn't sure if it was venomous or not, but it would have been an unpleasant surprise had he walked through it.

Uraraka bent down and picked up a broken chair leg. Shining the light on the spider, she thrust the leg into the web and began spinning it. The combination of the light and disturbance to its web sent the creature skittering off into the dark. She waved the wood through the air twice more to clear a path, then dropped it to the floor.

"Good thing you have that light," Kirishima sighed, scratching his head.

"Yeah", she answered, a small smile creeping across her face. "Iida insisted Deku and I work some survival supplies into our costumes."

"Good thing for us," he replied. I should've done that too. Good to know Midoriya isn't just stumbling around in the dark though."

Her smile fell slightly as she nodded. "I hope not."

Catching the shift in her mood, he backpedaled. "I'm sure he's fine. We just gotta meet up again."

"I know he's alright," she answered, a soft sigh escaping her lips as she forced her shoulders to relax. "I don't like this situation, ya know? What makes this guy think he can play games with people's lives?"

He couldn't answer her immediately. In all fairness, he wasn't sure the question was one that needed answering. He placed an ear against the door, listening for any sounds beyond. When he didn't hear any, he spoke again, reaching for the door handle as he did.

"Some guys are just twisted like that," he said. Finding the door unlocked, he pushed it open. A low creaking filled the room, but was dampened by the wood and cloth of the furniture.

"Yeah," came the lame response. They were all out of their depth here. This wasn't the first time they had faced a surprise attack from a villain. It wasn't even the first time they'd found themselves forcibly divided. They had always managed to pull through, no matter the odds, but something about this whole setup gave him pause. Maybe it was the calm confidence of the villain's speech. He had made his demands with utmost self assurance. The villain was confident he could see his threats through to the end. Worse still, he realized, All Might wouldn't be coming to save them this time.

He pushed the thoughts aside, peering over Uraraka's shoulder as she led the way through the doorway and into the hall beyond. It was a long, low corridor with concrete walls close enough to force them to walk single file. The walls were pock marked here and there with patches of mold, and the whole air smelled of damp and mildew. He wrinkled his nose trying to fight a sneeze.

The hallway proceeded only a short distance. After a only a few steps, they could make out another door at its end with two others on the right wall.

"So which one has the new car behind it?" he asked.

She didn't answer, but he could see her shoulders shake ever so slightly from the force of her restrained laughter. He'd count that as a win.

She moved slowly now, stooping at each door to check for signs of passage. He stayed back, not wanting to risk disturbing whatever marks she might find. Whatever she saw seemed to confuse her, however. He watched as she doubled back not once but twice, checking and rechecking the ground. After a few minutes she finally came back, speaking softly.

"None of the doors have been opened."

"You sure?" he asked, not sure what to make of this new information.

"Yes," she nodded. "Whoever went through that door earlier didn't come this way."

"Then where did they go?"

"I don't know," she admitted, face falling. "Maybe they doubled back and went through the other door. Maybe that's where Bug Spray was…."

She trailed off, gaze fixed on the direction they had come from. Her eyes were wide and her shoulders tense. He followed her gaze. The light reached back to the door. He saw it still hanging open and he could see some of the furniture stacked in the room. Most of the doorway, however, was obscured by a broad, black form. The shape of it was indistinct, defying his mind's attempts to resolve it as it seemed to greedily pull in the light. As they struggled to comprehend what they were seeing, they heard, or rather, felt it. A deep rumbling that shook the ground and resonated through their chests split the air about them.

In an instant his quirk was active, ready to intercept an attack. In another instant the attack came, a powerful blow that sent him sprawling back into Uraraka. He heard a loud crack as they collided. His head was spinning. The blow hadn't managed to break through his hardened skin, but he had been completely unable to stand against it. Worse than that, he had been used as a weapon against his friend. He stood, feeling her hands wrap around his arm to haul him back up. He stumbled after her, as she yanked at the handle of a door to the right.

The door swung open and they charged through into another hallway. They heard no sounds of pursuit, but every instinct in his body was telling him to keep running. He hated this feeling. The fact that he was between his friend and whatever that thing was proved only a small consolation.

The hallway ended abruptly, splitting off to the right and the left. The design made little sense to him, but his instincts were still screaming. Without pausing, Uraraka bolted to the left. The hallway had a pipe running along one wall, but it only continued a short distance before terminating at a door.

Another deep rumble echoed through the air, and he found himself moving her aside, noting briefly that she was missing her helmet. He estimated he had one shot before that thing was on them again. Coiling his legs, he charged at the door, splintering it in a single blow as he blasted through. He felt nothing beneath his feet as he tried to catch himself. Wind began to rush past his face.

He was falling.

Of all the things to find in this wretched basement, it had to be a sinkhole. He didn't know how deep it went. He couldn't see the bottom. As if in response to his thoughts, Uraraka's light fell past him, tumbling down into the dark. Was she falling too? He couldn't tell. He braced himself for the impact that was far too long in coming.

When it finally came, he felt pain lance through his body. He had landed shoulder first on his left arm. Even his quirk had not spared the limb from the impact. A sharp pain raced up and down his left side. Resting not a meter away was Uraraka's light, splitting the darkness about him as it bounced off of stone walls and floor. He tried to shift, but his body resisted. His vision was already fading. Reaching a hand out toward the light, his sight finally faded with his consciousness.

* * *

Izuku was beginning to wish he had stayed on campus. Even Aizawa's worst quiz was preferable to the pain in his head. The corridor was longer than he had expected. Even at his slow pace, he thought he should have found an end after five minutes. When those five had turned into fifteen, he felt his anxiety begin to spike.

He had quickly discovered that he had left his phone in the common room, so it was possible that his sense of time had been thrown off by the combination of the darkness and his head injury. He decided to count the seconds as he walked. When he hit four hundred, he began to suspect his initial estimate had been correct. That left only three possibilities that he could think of. He had been moved to a new location while unconscious. The lodge had been built over some previous structure. The villain's quirk was somehow able to affect the geography.

The first choice didn't make any sense. If he had been moved, why? They had been relatively trapped at the lodge already. If the point was to isolate him to make him an easier target, then why was he still alive? Why hadn't the villain killed him while he was unconscious?

Give me One for All.

The villain's words returned to the forefront of his mind. He was still playing some twisted game with them. If that was the case, killing him outright would go against the spirit of the game.

The second choice was still more likely in his mind. This far up in the mountains it was possible the lodge had been near a mining operation of some kind. The concrete reminded him more of a military installation, however. If he could find more to the complex than this one hall, he might understand better.

As for the third option, that gave him pause. Cementoss was the only person he knew of that had a quirk capable of restructuring an area like this. Maybe a warp type quirk like Kurogiri's was being used and the villain was just linking multiple locations together or looping him through the same hallway to confuse him. He didn't have enough information to know either way.

He was just considering breaking through the wall when the hallway finally changed. Another passageway opened off to his left, and ahead the corridor split in either direction with a set of stone stairs leading up. A single, fluorescent bulb was lit, hanging from a chain at the base of the stairs. Seeing a potential exit, he began to walk toward it only to stop as he heard a metal latch sliding from ahead.

He switched his own light off and took cover in the side passage, waiting to see who would appear. The sound of a creaking hinge preceded the sound of footsteps on the stairs. He peeked his head around the corner, hoping to catch a glimpse of the person entering. The person that stepped into the light seemed familiar, though he couldn't quite place why.

The person was tall and lean. Male he had to guess as their face was hidden behind a black, theater mask. A streak of red ran from the base of each eye hole. A long, black coat was draped over his shoulders. A set of brown, leather gloves covered his hands. He wore a pressed, white, button-up shirt and a pair of tan slacks. His snowy boots echoed loudly with each step on the hard floor.

The man looked first to his left, then to his right. Then his head turned, the eye holes on his mask facing him directly. He ducked back behind the corner, placing a hand over his mouth to hush the sound of his breathing.

* * *

Shadowmark.

The name had been given to him years ago by some reporter with a taste for the sensational after some of his early players had managed to leave the game. The reporter had not found her own turn at playing to be nearly so sensational. Still, the name had served its purpose. He had been able to operate in near anonymity for years. Given the developments of recent months, however, he wondered if he should reveal his name to these players. He could already imagine the terror on their faces when they learned the truth. Just the thought sent a shiver of pleasure down his spine.

He could sense them all. All of them approaching the game differently. But all of them were playing, willing or no. Zero Gravity, Hardening, Explosion, Erasure, Cold and Hot, Darkness, Bug Swarm, Gigantification, and One for All. One for All was right in front of him now. He thought he was hidden there. He didn't understand that this wasn't his house.

Shadowmark had to suppress a smile at the thought. This house was his property now. Hiding wasn't an option. His enemy was so close now. It would be so simple to reach out and snuff his life like a candle. But it wasn't time yet. There was still a game to play. He still hadn't made his point. Then again, it was the players that would make his point for him. Just as they always had.

Taking some pleasure in that thought, he turned away, walking down the hall to his left. The night was still young. He finally let the smile creep over his face as he thought of the fun still to be had.


	4. Shadows of the Past

**Hey all,**

 **I gotta say, trying to write for this series has given me a whole new appreciation for Horikoshi's ability as a writer. These are not easy characters to portray.**

 **Thank you to all the reviewers, favorites, and followers. The story is just shy of fifty followers as of my writing this. Thank you all so much! I hope you all continue to enjoy the story.**

* * *

Izuku watched as the figure walked away. Even after he had disappeared from view, he refused to move. His ears strained to compensate for his impaired vision. No sound reached him beyond his own breathing. He stepped out cautiously. The sound of his footsteps seemed too loud, a problem only made worse by his metal greaves.

Moving up to the intersection, he peered around the corner where the man had gone. The glow of the dim bulb overhead extended less than ten meters before fading into darkness. Perceiving neither sound nor movement, he let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding and turned toward the stairs.

He ascended them slowly, watching for any hint of a trap. If he was lucky, the man had come from the outside, and this was the exit. If it wasn't, well, he'd still be just as lost as he was now. As he moved out of the light, he activated his flashlight again.

Turning the light upward, he saw that the stairs continued only a short distance before terminating at an iron door. He drew close and tested the door. Locked. Upon closer inspection, he could see that the door was held shut by a large deadbolt.

He didn't need to be a locksmith to know that nothing he had would pick it. If he aimed well, he could probably break the door down, but that could alert the entire complex to his location. He deliberated for only a moment. He was only certain of the one person being here with him. If the door led to an exit, he just needed to keep moving. If it was a dead end, he just needed to double back. Simple, right?

Not allowing doubt time to creep back in, he called forth One for All, activating his full cowl to twenty percent of its power. He sprang into the air and sent a kick racing for the lock. The armored soles rebounded from the door, and the hydraulics swiftly kicked back toward it. The first blow bent the lock inward. The second snapped it entirely. The impacts sounded like a bell, deep and dull, but unnaturally loud as the sound bounced off the walls and carried.

Izuku caught himself with only slight difficulty, one hand going to his still aching head. At twenty percent, he could get a couple of blows out, but the force still rattled his bones and set his muscles aching. He gathered his wits quickly and moved toward the door now standing half ajar. With any luck, there would be other doors like this in the complex behind him, and the sound would rebound enough times to confuse any would-be pursuers.

He pushed the door aside, grateful that its hinges didn't protest. Shining his light into the space beyond, he saw...a dead end. But this was not the "end of the tunnel, trapped like a rat" kind.

A room lay beyond the door, dimly lit with the blue glow of computer monitors. He felt along the wall for a switch and found one quickly enough. As he flipped it, his eyes were stabbed by the brilliant white of the overhead fluorescent lights. He quickly turned them off again, preferring the decreased visibility to the pain the lights exasperated. He silently vowed to add pain reliever to his emergency kit before his next mission.

He approached the monitors, scanning over their contents. There were three in total, all of them displaying a different news article. One displayed a summary of the Kamino Ward incident. Another was an opinion piece in response to All Might's retirement. The last one gave him pause. It was a video, muted, but set to repeat. He knew this video better than anyone else alive. He had watched it so many times he could probably reproduce it from memory. It was the incident that had marked All Might's debut as a pro hero.

He clicked on his flashlight again to examine the rest of the room. He almost expected to find it full of All Might merchandise. Almost. As his headache continued to assault him, a soft buzzing began to filter into his hearing. He tried to shake it off, but it continued, so he ignored it. Moving his light about the room, he found it was largely empty, but it was entirely unlike the concrete corridors he had wandered. The floor was a well stained hardwood, and the walls were painted a soft blue. A set of frames were hanging opposite the monitors.

Drawing close, the frames appeared to be gilded, shining brilliant gold even in the dim light. Intricate patterns were traced along them. Some were floral, a tangle of rose and tulip. Others were modeled after grecian pillars or fantastic creatures. None of them held artwork of any kind. Instead, each held the front page of a newspaper.

Izuku looked closer, reading the dates. They were in a range from six to ten years old. The headlines, at first, seemed unrelated to one another: "Family of Six Killed in House Fire", "Vacationing Students Commit Mass Suicide", "Woman Escapes Psychotic Kidnapper", "Famous Reporter, 6 Others, Found Dead in Her Own Home". As Izuku scanned over the headlines, a sinking feeling began to take root in his gut. He recognized some of these stories. They had been attributed to one of All Might's most notorious villains. One that had been taken down through the efforts of both the number one and number two heroes together. One that had recently escaped prison.

As fear began to worm its way into him, he backed away from the frames. As he did, the light caught a set of red cords running from the top of the frames toward the ceiling. He traced them upward, and the light fell on a dagger buried in the ceiling above him. The cords were wrapped about its hilt. There were words, painted in red, under the dagger's tip. Once, they had read "One for All", but since then, a line had been struck through the "All" so that the words now read "One for Them?"

Any doubts he had held about the purpose of this "game" were dispelled in an instant. The killer, Shadowmark, wanted him. How he knew about One for All to begin with, he didn't know, let alone how he had discovered his identity as its new holder. He put a hand to his head, trying to ignore the buzzing that was growing even louder now. He needed to find his friends and get out of here.

He turned and bolted from the room, taking the stairs two at a time. The droning grew even louder, and as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he realized his mistake. A swarm of insects were flying toward him from the direction he had originally come from. Bug Spray was loose, and if he was free, the other two couldn't be far behind.

He summoned his full cowl and raised both hands. He flicked out his fingers, thankful again for Hatsume's ingenuity. His gloves redirected the force and set a jet of air pressure rocketing toward the swarm. The pressure wave was further amplified by the confined corridor. With no direction to expand but forward, it slammed into the swarm, crushing the first row and sending the rest of the bugs scattering backward.

He took the opening and bolted down the corridor to his right, fueling his flight with full cowl. He needed to put distance between them. To his dismay, the corridor continued straight without any offshoots he could take advantage of. He had taken this tunnel because Shadowmark had taken the other, but now he was beginning to wonder if he should have tried the side passage he had found earlier.

Just as he was starting to lose hope, he saw it. The tunnel ended at a door. It was currently shut, but it could act as a barrier against the villains behind him for at least a few moments. He slowed, yanked it open, felt relief rush through him at finding it unlocked. He didn't run through. As he stood at the now open door, his brief triumph faded. On the other side of the door was a solid, concrete wall.

He turned back, hearing the buzzing drone of the insects steadily drawing closer. He clipped his light to his belt and readied himself. If he was going to have any chance here, he would need to punch through to the other side.

He had already managed to put a good amount of distance between himself and the swarm. It took more than a minute for them to come into sight. As soon as the first row entered the range of his light, he let loose.

He sent wave after wave of air pressure down the tunnel, breaking and dispersing the swarm. It was a test of endurance. He fired off one blast after another in rapid succession, ignoring the growing pain in his hands as the swarm was buffeted back. No matter how many times he broke the swarm, it reformed, pressing forward, but gaining no ground. At this rate, he wondered if he would block the tunnel with the dead bugs.

His pondering was cut short, however, as he felt a series of sharp pin pricks across his back. He swatted at his back with one hand while he tried to keep the other at the ready to scatter the approaching swarm. His hand struck several small lumps. Venturing a glance, he saw that about fifteen of the stinging insects had managed to make it past his attacks and were now curling up, dead. Worse, his vision was beginning to swim. Didn't the dossier warn that these insects could be venomous?

He let loose another blast of air, but they were coming slower now and the swarm was approaching. Finally, he dropped to one knee, barely managing to keep from disgorging the contents of his stomach. Then the swarm reached him. He expected the bugs to begin stinging into him, but instead they settled around him, blanketing the concrete.

His breathing was ragged. He watched as the swarm ahead parted and Bug Spray, Somnus, and Goliath walked into the light. He glared at them defiantly, or tried to at least. He couldn't appear too threatening at the moment.

Somnus's mouth spread into a wide smile as she approached. Then she brought her fist across his temple. His vision flashed white and pain lanced through his head. Only by sheer force of will did he remain conscious.

"That's for earlier," she hissed through her teeth. He didn't answer. He didn't trust himself not to vomit. He only glared up at her as he felt sweat begin to pour down his face.

"Finish him," she said, turning back to Goliath. The man stepped forward, one arm growing in size as he reached toward Izuku.

"Nothing personal, kid," he said. "But we don't plan on dying tonight."

"Shadowmark won't let you go," Izuku managed to wheeze out. He wanted to sound confident, but his vision was already fading.

"Maybe not," Somnus admitted, frowning. "But then, neither will you." She nodded, and Goliath resumed his approach.

As he reached forward to crush the hero in training, Izuku felt remorse. He would die without ever becoming the symbol of peace he aspired to be. He would be letting down All Might, his friends, his mother. As he thought of those he would leave behind he felt the last spark of his defiance spring to life, a burning flame of anger. They wanted his life. He wouldn't give it so easily.

Green plasma arched about him, and Goliath hesitated. That was all the opening he needed. Twenty percent, in short bursts, would hurt, but it wouldn't break him. He charged One for All and sprang forward faster than they could respond. He crashed to the ground ten meters behind them and forced himself back to his feet.

"After him!" Somnus shouted. But he was already moving, racing blindly ahead as his vision faded. He fought it, holding onto consciousness for as long as he could. Hallways passed in a monochromatic blur. He lost track of himself quickly, running only on instinct until even that faded. He didn't know how long he ran. Eventually, his grip on One for All loosened and he stumbled forward. He felt himself falling in darkness, unaware of anything as everything faded to nothing, and he lost consciousness.

* * *

Uraraka clung tightly to the rock wall. She had activated her quirk as soon as she started falling. The decision had bought her the time she needed to catch herself. Now, however, she was left in the dark. She didn't know how much room she had to maneuver, but she could see her light, still faintly shining some distance below her.

"Kirishima!" she called out.

No answer came back, but the echoing of her own voice. Her pulse spiked at this. Kirishima could endure falls from great heights, but even he had his limits. She couldn't see the path down, but she could still feel the wall around her.

She put a hand to her face, activating her quirk in case she lost her footing in the dark. The wave of nausea was horrible, but she fought it down. Carefully, she reached one foot down, tapping against the wall until she could find a good foothold. It was slow going at first. Twice she lost her footing and sent a shower of pebbles skittering into the darkness. But as the minutes passed, she grew more confident, pushing herself down the wall. She was getting closer to the bottom, but it was still taking too long.

As her worry was starting to spike again, she heard a groan coming from below. It was weak and pained.

"Kirishima?" she called again.

"Yeah," she heard him croak back. There was a cough as he cleared his throat and he called out more clearly, "Yeah! I'm down here!"

"Can you grab my light?" she called back.

"Hang on," he answered, but there was pain in his voice. He scooped up the light, and she saw a flash of red before he turned it upward. Had she been closer, her eyes might have needed to adjust. As it was, she estimated she was still at least fifty meters from the bottom. There didn't appear to be any obstacles between them either.

"I'm gonna jump!" she called down. "Hold the light steady so I know when to catch myself!"

"Got it!"

She let go of the wall and steadied her breathing. Even with the amount of practicing she'd done, she had still gone over her limit for a single use of her quirk. She brought her fingers together, ignoring the taste of bile building in her throat. As her quirk released, the nausea retreated, only to return full force as her stomach rose to her throat and she fell. Faster and faster she fell, feeling the wind race past her face as the light grew closer and closer. At the last possible second, she slapped both hands to her face, activating her quirk again and halting her fall less than a meter above the ground. She brought her fingers together to release herself and barely managed to land on her feet before she doubled over and wretched what was left in her stomach.

As she wiped her mouth, she looked up at Kirishima. He was holding the light toward her, so it was difficult to see him, but his face shone with concern and pain. She took the light from him and turned it back to get a better view. She stifled a gasp as she took in the state of his right arm.

It was bloody and hanging limp at his side. The skin was split in numerous locations, the blood just beginning to clot. She turned the light to the floor and saw a drying, crimson stain decorating the rocks.

She moved quickly then, ushering her injured classmate to sit. She pulled out some bandages and antiseptic cream and went to work dressing the wound.

"Thanks," he spoke, softer now. He winced as she applied the cream. It stung horribly, but he beared it.

"I think your arm might be broken," she said after she had wiped away some of the blood.

He nodded in response, keeping his vision focused on a particularly interesting rock ahead of him to try to distract from the pain. It wasn't working, but at least he tried.

She scanned about the cave. His arm needed to be braced. He had broken through the door above so there should be….

There only a short distance to her right was a large splinter from the wooden door. She scooped it up quickly and bashed it against the stone floor to dull its point. She turned back to him and, after binding his wounds, used the stake and what was left of her bandages to create a makeshift splint.

Stepping back, she examined her work. It was far from professional and would need to be rebound as soon as possible, but it was better than nothing. She could be confident his arm was safe from permanent damage for the moment at least. It was in far better shape than anything Deku had done to his own arms.

The thought stopped her for a moment. He was still missing. Alone against whatever horrors their tormentor had planned for them. She had to believe he could manage, would manage, on his own until they could find him.

"So where are we now?" Kirishima asked, standing.

"I'm not sure," she answered, sweeping her light in a wide circle about them. Halfway around the edge of the hole they'd fallen into, the wall fell away into a tunnel. She drew nearer to it and peered inside. The cave floor sloped steadily upward, disappearing beyond her light.

"The way out?" he asked.

"I don't know," she admitted. "But it's worth a try. I don't think I can float us both back to the top, and you're in no condition to try climbing."

"I could take that climb with one arm," he boasted, shooting her a cocky grin.

She gave him an incredulous look before turning back to the tunnel.

"Come on," she said. "We need to get moving."

The slope was gentle, but the climb was still taxing. The air was thick and stale, forcing them to take deep breaths to get enough. After ten minutes, the floor finally leveled out. As it did, they found a metal cart atop a set of rails.

"Are we in a mine?", she pondered aloud.

"Looks like," he answered. "Any chance we can catch a ride in that thing?"

"No," she answered, looking at the wheels. "It's rusted through. Must've been here a while."

She turned her light to the area around the cart. A fine layer of black dust appeared to line the area. She swept some onto her finger to feel it. It was soft, almost oily.

"Coal?" she questioned aloud.

Kirishima bent in to look and nodded. "Probably. I think I heard something about these mountains being a source of coal a while back."

"I hope they didn't close the cave when they left."

"Me too."

They continued in silence for some time, choosing to follow the tracks toward what they hoped would be an exit and ignore the doubts beginning to creep into their minds. Time seemed to crawl by as they walked. The bleak caves offered no comfort or sign of ending.

Uraraka was beginning to feel a stab of panic when the monotony was broken. The tunnel opened into a vast cavern. The ceiling was obscured from their vision, existing somewhere beyond the range of her light. Ramshackle wooden outbuildings were scattered about with the tracks splitting in numerous directions around them. Tables filled with rusty tools were littered about, some overturned and splintered. Tent canvasses were spread about, some still standing, but most collapsed.

"A base camp!" Uraraka shouted in elation; her voice echoed off in the distance.

"Think they left anything useful?" Kirishima asked.

"Maybe. It looks like they left their tools at least."

They moved through the camp slowly, stopping to check each of the buildings. Most of them were empty. In one they found a half full oil lantern and a book of matches. They took it, grateful for the additional light.

As they moved farther in, the back wall of the cave came into view. At least four different tunnels spread out from it, disappearing into the darkness beyond. Moving closer, another building, larger than the others appeared before them. There was no sign or marking to indicate its purpose, but Uraraka guessed it had been the foreman's lodgings. Of the proper buildings they had come across, it was the only one with two storeys.

They entered cautiously, not trusting the old structure to hold. Perhaps it was due to the depth at which it had been built, but they found it was strangely well preserved. The wood was old and dry, but appeared to be largely without mold or rot. The entryway was a short hallway. A door stood closed on either side, and a set of stairs led upward at the back.

Uraraka walked to the door on their left and tested it. Unlocked. She pushed it open and shined her light about the room beyond. Empty shelves lined the walls. In the center of the room was a simple wooden chair and desk with four drawers. She approached, scanning for anything the previous owner might have left behind. Seeing nothing on the desk, she decided to check the drawers. The first two were empty, but in the third she found a small leather journal and a piece of rolled up, yellowing paper.

"Bingo," she said. Kirishima approached and took the paper while she scanned the journal.

"This belonged to the foreman," she said after skimming a few pages. "From the dates, it looks like this mine was active sixty years ago, but…" she trailed off, quickly flipping toward the back of the book. "It was closed after a series of accidents. Cave ins, faulty equipment, that sort of thing."

When Kirishima didn't answer, she looked up to make sure he was listening. He was leaning over the desk, the paper unrolled in front of him, held still by his one good hand. A wide grin was stretched over his features.

"What is it?" she asked, moving to look with him. He didn't answer. He didn't need to really, she could see it just as well as he could. It was a map. She could see details of the tunnels leading out from here. The one closest to the building they were in led to the surface. Beyond that were detailed a few landmarks, including a place named "Carveinn Lodge".

She pointed to the mark on the map. "Do you think that's…?"

He nodded, "Probably. We must have fallen down a sinkhole that opened under it."

"That makes sense," she admitted. Then she smiled. "Now that we know the way, let's get out of here and find the others."

Kirishima nodded his agreement. Then a door slammed above them.

They froze, eyes wide in surprise, and listened. The floor above them creaked as someone or something moved. Uraraka clicked off her light and extinguished their lamp. She moved quickly to the door, trying to make as little noise as possible. She pushed the door till it was almost closed, allowing a narrow view into the hallway. At first it was pitch black, but after a moment, she heard hushed voices and a flickering, orange light began to filter into the hallway. In her panicked state, she couldn't make out what the voices were saying. She coiled, ready to strike. Then they moved past her, oblivious to her presence.

One of them was holding a torch or a match of some kind in their left hand. She couldn't see the second. Then, as her panic began to fade, she realized the figure wasn't holding a torch, and it clicked.

"Todoroki?" she called, opening the door.

The figure turned, and as it did, the face of her classmate became visible. His eyes were wide with surprise. To his left, now visible outside of his shadow was Bakugo, eyes wide and teeth bared. Seeing her and Kirishima he asked the one thing that was on all of their minds.

"What the hell is going on here!?"

* * *

 **Reverse Flash, I promise your fatigue issues are not caused by me steadily draining away your speed force...probably.**

 **Crissylover, I have stuff planned for Lord Explosion Murder. We'll get to see his perspective a bit next chapter as I go over what led to this odd cliffhanger.**

 **The next chapter is already half outlined. Just need to do some polishing, so I hope I can get it posted faster than this one. Until next time!**


	5. Rage Against the Dark

**Hello all,**

 **Thanks for continuing to read and for all the new followers/favorites/reviews. I really do appreciate it.**

 **I hope you all continue to enjoy! Bakugo is much more fun to write than I originally guessed. :)**

* * *

The two groups stared at each other as his question hung lamely in the air. To be sure, Bakugo was happy to see his classmates alive, but after the night's events he was beginning to question his sanity just enough to wonder if he was imagining them there.

"Bakugo, Todoroki!" Kirishima practically shouted with a toothy grin. "You're alright!"

"Eh?" If they were hallucinations, they were as annoying as the real deal. "OF COURSE I'M ALRIGHT! IF ANYTHING, I SHOULD BE THE ONE SURPRISED YOU'RE ALRIGHT! WHAT'S WITH THAT ARM!? ARE YOU TRYING TO BE DEKU NOW!?"

Kirishima's grin never left his face, though it did turn sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head with his good hand.

"Would you believe I fell?"

"Like hell! You're probably some kind of trick!" he answered, stepping forward, sparks already springing from his palm.

"Hang on!" Kirishima protested, "Why am I a trick!?"

Bakugo didn't pause. After what he'd seen in this madhouse, he wasn't taking any chances. If he was a fake, best take care of it now. If he was the real deal, well, he'd be fine. Probably.

He was reaching out to blast him when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to see Todoroki staring icily back at him.

"There are ways to confirm their identity without blowing them up," he stated coolly.

"Shut it," he spat back. "Don't tell me what to do."

He turned back to find Uraraka had moved to stand between him and Kirishima.

"What's going on Bakugo?" she demanded, glaring at him. "Why would we be tricks, and how'd you even get down here?"

"What're you spouting now?" he replied with a sneer. "We came down the stairs just like you should have."

"Enough!" Todoroki interrupted. He turned to Uraraka, his expression softening slightly. "Can you float something? Just to satisfy him?"

She turned her gaze from Bakugo to him, and a malicious grin spread across her face. Todoroki and Kirishima took a step back upon seeing it. Some instinct of self-preservation deep inside was screaming "danger!" Bakugo either didn't have this instinct or had long ago locked it away and blown up the key, because he didn't back down. Even as Uraraka took a step toward him, her smile almost sweet, he just glared down at her. Then she slapped him across the face. Hard.

He hadn't expected that. In hindsight, he probably should have, but he was just being cautious, dammit! There was no need to...oh. As the surprise faded, he realized he had been sent spinning. Literally. Her quirk had erased his weight, and the force of the blow had him twirling like a ballerina in mid air.

"Alright, I get it!" he shouted, shooting out a hand to grab the wall and stop his spinning as Kirishima laughed. She didn't give him warning before deactivating her quirk, but he managed to land on his feet regardless.

"Dang, Uraraka," Kirishima whistled. "You should try that in combat training sometime."

She turned back to him, the malice fading from her grin as she scratched at her head bashfully.

"Are we done now?" Todoroki asked, his gaze trained on Bakugo.

"Yeah," he answered with a scowl.

Todoroki turned back to Uraraka. "Are we safe here?"

"Safest we've been so far," she shrugged. "We've been either on the run or lost since just a little after you two left."

"Did you find Aizawa-sensei?" Kirishima cut in.

"Let's sit down," Todoroki said with a grimace.

They all walked into the study and seated themselves as best they could. Uraraka took the chair, mostly because Kirishima insisted it would be unmanly of him to take it even with his injury. Instead he sat on the desk while Bakugo and Todoroki sat cross-legged on the floor.

"So sensei?" Kirishima prompted.

"Found him, then lost him," Bakugo answered bluntly. Todoroki nodded in agreement.

"What do you mean 'lost him'?" Uraraka asked.

"Let's back up a couple of steps here," Todoroki sighed. "We were following your trail into the basement…."

"""

Thirty minutes earlier….

The steps creaked beneath the trio's feet as they walked, but, as Todoroki's senses strained to compensate for his lack of vision, it may as well have been the sound of a stampede. They would be blind if not for the dim red light shining from their teacher's goggles. He and Bakugo had both been ordered not to use their quirk as a light source until they either found the villains or could ascertain their whereabouts.

They stepped off the stairs and onto the dusty landing. The light swept back and forth over the shelves and floor as Aizawa scanned the room around them. He knelt down and swiped a hand across the concrete.

"Take a look," he said.

Todoroki walked forward and began to kneel down to see what he had found, but the sound of a loud crunch stopped him. He and Aizawa turned to look at Bakugo who just stared back with surprise on his face. They followed his gaze as it trailed down to his feet. He lifted his boot revealing the crushed body of a large roach. They would have shrugged it off as nothing had another ten not scurried past his feet, running off to his left. They watched as the pests ran directly to a door and disappeared underneath it.

"Bus Spray?" Todoroki asked.

"Maybe," Aizawa answered. "Those might be his way of discovering a tail."

"Not very effective then," Bakugo stated with a grin. "We can just follow them right back to him."

"Assuming it's not a trap," Aizawa pointed out. He stepped up to the door and placed his ear against it. After listening for a moment, he turned back to them and said, "It sounds clear. Stay close and stay quiet."

Todoroki was pretty sure that last warning had been directed at Bakugo, but to his teacher's credit, he looked at both of them to make sure they understood. They both nodded, and Aizawa turned to the door. He pulled it open and stepped through into the hallway beyond, treading softly.

Todoroki stepped forward to follow, but before he could reach the door it slammed shut with a loud BANG!, plunging them into darkness. He ran to the door, flames alight on his left side to light the way, but Bakugo beat him there, yanking on the handle. It wouldn't budge.

"Sensei!" he shouted, knocking against the wood frame. "Are you okay!?"

No answer came.

Bakugo's face screwed up in frustration. "Stand back from the door, sensei!"

Before Todoroki's protest could leave his mouth, Bakugo's hands flashed with searing light and the door was torn open, shattering into countless tiny fragments. Todoroki quickly erected a shielding wall of ice between him and the explosive teen, saving him from most of the shrapnel. One piece still managed to graze his cheek, though. He melted the ice quickly and moved through the dust and smoke only to find Bakugo standing there, staring at the door dumbly.

He followed his gaze to see...a closet. Behind the door was a closet, full of empty shelves. No hallway. No teacher. Just an empty closet. Bakugo stepped inside, tapping the shelves with his gauntlets just in case it was an illusion. The soft thump of metal on wood, however, made it clear that this was no illusion.

"""

"Wait," Kirishima interjected as Todoroki paused in his retelling. "So you're saying the hall just disappeared?"

"No," Bakugo answered with a growl. "It was replaced. With a freaking closet!"

"How is that possible?" Uraraka asked, concern clouding her features. "This whole place is old.. I don't think this villain could have put in moving rooms. Especially not in the foundations."

"It must be his quirk," Todoroki answered, a hand on his chin as he thought. "We don't have enough information on this individual to be sure, but he probably has some control over the local environment. Remember when he first addressed us, he called us trespassers. It's possible he calls this place his property because he controls it."

"Or because he's a nutcase," Bakugo spat. "I've got a better question though. Where the hell is Deku?"

Kirishima looked away, taking sudden interest in the desk he was sitting on. Uraraka looked down, her expression falling into one of sadness and concern, and Bakuo felt his blood run cold.

"We don't know," she answered.

"Don't know!?" Bakugo shouted, pulse rising. "Don't tell me you let him go off on his own!"

"We didn't 'let' him do anything like that!" Uraraka shot back defensively. "One second he was there, the next he just vanished." Her gaze moved back to the floor, and her voice fell. "We went to the basement to look for him, but we've got no idea where he could've gone."

"We need to find him, now," Bakugo stated firmly.

"I agree," Todoroki said, though not without a curious look his way. He ignored it. Unlike Deku, he wasn't going to go around spouting secrets. Still, this was bad. They had lost too much control of the situation already.

"Is that a map?" Todoroki prompted, pointing to the roll of paper in Kirishima's hand.

"Yeah," Kirishima answered. "The nearest tunnel should lead us back to the surface."

"Surface?"

"Oh yeah," Uraraka spoke up, rubbing the back of her head. "We probably should have mentioned, we got chased by a monster and fell into an old mine."

Bakugo and Todoroki just stared at her, dumbfounded.

"What?"

She slumped forward in her chair with a tired sigh. Then she explained the events that had transpired after their classmates had gone to look for their teacher. She explained their luck in avoiding detection by Bug Spray and the ambush by the creature in the shadows. She finished her recounting with their fall into the mine and discovery of the map and journal. When she was done, Bakugo was the first to speak.

"So he's got more than one of those things?"

"What do you mean?" Kirishima aksed.

"I ran into one of those 'monsters' outside," he explained. "Didn't get a good look at it though. It ran when I tried to light up the area. Must not like the light."

"Well it wasn't timid at all when we fought it. Knocked me aside like a pebble and broke Uraraka's helmet."

"So to be clear," Todoroki interrupted, "we have three known villains on the loose trying to claim a kill so that a fourth, unknown villain will let them go. This fourth villain seems to be able to change the layout of this place at will and has vicious attack dogs that run from bright light. Is that right so far?"

Everyone nodded.

"In that case, our best choice is to follow the map to the outside. If we can make it to the surface, we should be free from his quirk's influence. Then one or two of us can descend the mountain until we can get a good cell signal to call for backup."

"Oi! Who said you were in charge!?" Bakugo snapped.

"And Deku?" Uraraka asked, ignoring him.

"The rest of us will continue searching for him and Aizawa-sensei."

"So who's going for help?" Kirishima questioned, ignoring Bakugo's protests of "Stop ignoring me, dammit!"

"You and Bakugo should go for help," came the response.

"Like hell!" Bakugo protested. "If anything, I'm going to find this bastard and kill him so dead, his ancestors will feel it!"

"Now isn't the time for that!" Todoroki snapped. "Kirishima needs medical attention and you're the only one to have successfully driven one of those things away."

"Too bad," he spit back. "I'm staying here." He knew Todoroki's plan was a good one. They needed backup, but there was no way he was going to leave Deku to people that didn't understand the stakes.

"An interesting plan to be sure," a new voice spoke from the shadows. In an instant, they all whirled to face the direction it had come from. Todoroki's flames sprang to life, and sparks flew from Bakugo's hands. Uraraka turned her light, and for the first time that night, they saw their captor. He was seated atop one of the shelves, legs spread with his dark coat draped over his thighs. The dark sockets of his mask stared hollowly back at them.

He made no move toward them, seemingly content to watch. Bakugo stepped closer, placing himself between Kirishima and the newcomer. Uraraka stepped closer to the door, blocking the exit, while Todoroki stood in the center of the room, ready to respond in either direction.

"Oh, forgive me," the man said, reaching down and knocking twice on the shelf. "I should have knocked first. Watching you barbarians really does make me forget my manners."

"What do you want?" Uraraka practically growled at him. The mask turned toward her, tilting in curiosity.

"Did I not explain that already?" the voice answered, hollow and deep under the metal. "I want you to give-"

He was interrupted as Bakugo suddenly charged forward. Light flared from his palms as he released an explosion at the villain. Spoke, dust, and splintered wood filled the air. Uraraka began to cough, and Kirishima asked, "Did you get him?"

Bakugo didn't answer. He stood still, body tense, legs coiled and ready to strike. His eyes scanned the smoke warily, searching for any signs of movement. Instead, the villain spoke again from behind him.

"That was rude," he said, lounging next to the door. They all whirled to face him again. If he was fazed by the attack, he didn't show it. Even his clothing appeared untouched.

"Then again," he continued, "you are barbarians."

Bakugo charged again, ignoring Todoroki's shouts to calm down. This time, though, he held back, watching and waiting to see how this masked man would avoid the attack. Surprisingly, he didn't. He watched as his hand passed through the man's chest like it wasn't there. His eyes shot up to the holes in the mask. Blue eyes met his as his hand struck the straightened and took a step back, glaring at the villain as he did.

"You're not really here," Bakugo said.

The man regarded him impassively.

"So you're not all violent rage," he answered. "No, I'm not here."

"Then why bother making contact?" Todoroki asked.

"I was curious," he answered. "You at least seem to be less a barbarian than your father."

Todoroki stiffened, his face twisting into a hard scowl.

"What do you know?" he demanded.

The man stared at him. With no expressions visible, it was hard to get a read of him, but Bakugo imagined he must be smiling.

"I know enough." the man answered. "I was sure he would play the game fairly, but the cheater he was with ruined it all."

"Shadowmark," Todoroki hissed, his eyes widening in realization.

"The very same," Shadowmark answered with a mock bow.

"You know this guy?" Kirishima asked.

Todoroki nodded. "He's a serial killer from a few years ago. According to his few survivors, his MO was to trap people and get them to kill each other for him."

"That's not manly at all," Kirishima said, turning a glare on the villain.

"It seems you don't need a reminder of the rules after all," Shadowmark said. "In that case, I will take my leave."

"Wait!" Uraraka shouted. To Bakugo's surprise, he turned to face her. "What did you do with Deku?"

He regarded her silently for a moment before answering. "You are an odd one. I didn't do anything with him. The others, however…."

Uraraka's eyes went wide as fear and anger flashed across her face. Bakugo acted first, however.

"Shut up and DIE!" he shouted. Explosions ripped through the still air, kicking up dust and smoke again. They all coughed to clear the debris from their lungs. When the dust settled, the four of them were alone again.

"What was that for, Bakugo!?" Kirishima demanded. "He wasn't even here!"

"Shut up!" he fired back. "He was trying to waste our time!"

"He's right," Todoroki said. "We need to get moving."

"I'm still not leaving!" Bakugo shouted. "I'm gonna blast that bastard to kingdom come!"

"We don't have time to argue," Todoroki snapped back, moving to the door. "Let's just get moving for now."

He pulled it open and froze.

"Not again."

The others came up behind him and looked through the open doorway. Beyond was a concrete floor and walls. Wood shelves lined the walls, and a bag of coal sat beside a cold, iron furnace.

They stared into the dark boiler room with all their plans suddenly made null and void. There was a sharp gasp, and Uraraka rushed inside, pushing past all of them. As she knelt down, they saw what had drawn her attention. There, lying motionless in the middle of the floor, was Izuku.

"""

Somnus never thought she would find herself hating the dark. As long as she could remember, the darkness had been her friend, her confidant, her saviour. When she had been surrounded by those boys on the playground as a child, it had covered her escape. The lecture she had received after for using her quirk in public had been the first in a long line of injustices life had decided to throw her way.

After that, she would use her quirk whenever she could get away with it. Just little pranks here and there to spite the bullies. It wasn't until her mother had fallen ill that she started using it in a way that could be considered "criminal". Without the money for medicine, she had resorted to stealing. It was hard enough to catch someone you couldn't see, let alone notice them take anything.

It was only when her mother's boyfriend had "gotten them mixed up" while drunk that she was caught in any sort of legal trouble. She had only wanted to blind him so she could get away. She didn't realize the balcony door had been left open. She didn't expect him to charge blindly after her.

The fact that he had managed to survive a four storey drop was surprising. The fact that her mother had taken his side when he called the police on her was worse. In the end it was her word versus his, and with her mother against her, she had lost the case.

Before the police could take her away, she plunged the courtroom into darkness and fled. She spent months alone on the run, stealing whatever she needed to survive. As she lay down among the trash one night, she decided. If the world was going to brand her a villain, who was she to argue?

She liked to think she had taught the carefree plebeians to fear the dark. Now, she wondered if it wasn't just wistful thinking. Here, relying on her cohort to guide the way through this abyssal basement, she had to wonder if there weren't others that understood the darkness better than she did.

"Where did that pipsqueak go?" the coarse voice of Goliath sounded behind her, unnecessarily loud in the tight space.

"Like I know," she snapped back at him. "I can't see any better than you can!"

"Oi, Bug Spray," he called. "How far did he get?"

She felt the insect in her palm scurry about, spelling out the answer.

"He says he didn't get too far," she answered for her mute companion.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Goliath griped. "Like, next room, next two steps, what-ow!" he yelped as Somnus drove her heel into his foot.

"What was that for!?"

"You're being too loud. Anyone down here is going to know where we are!"

"You're not wrong about that," a new voice spoke in a lazy drawl.

She heard a dull thump from ahead and the insect in her hand started moving erratically. She flicked it from her palm and dove backwards, allowing Goliath to move past her as a red light sprang to life. It swept across the concrete walls, pausing briefly as it fell on each of them.

Her vision of it was obscured as Goliath got into range, one fist growing as he reared back to punch the newcomer. As his hand raced toward its target, however, it shrank back to normal size. The light avoided the attack, and Somnus guessed at what was happening.

She cursed her luck as she raised her hands to blind Eraserhead before he could block her quirk. She was too slow. He bounced off the wall, binding cloths wrapping around Goliath's neck and pulling him to the ground even as his gaze turned to her. In the red light from his goggles, he had no problem seeing her.

She swore under her breath and turned to run. If she could just get some distance, she could get out of the light. Then she could try for an ambush with full use of her quirk. She managed to make it three steps before feeling the cloths wrap around her waist and pull her roughly backwards and onto the ground.

"I'm only going to ask you once," Eraserhead spoke, shifting his goggles to look down at her directly. She met his eyes and felt her blood run cold. His eyes were glowing an angry crimson, and his lips were curled into a snarl. He knelt down, face inches from hers.

"Where are my students?"


	6. The Shadow's Game

**Hey all!**

 **Sorry for the delay. This chapter was very difficult for me, and I wanted to get it right. Not sure I managed it quite how I wanted, but I did my best and I hope that you all continue to enjoy the story.**

 **Thank you to everyone that followed, favorited, and reviewed, I really do appreciate it.**

* * *

Somnus felt like she was going to be sick. This day had gone from bad to worse. Then, when she was convinced nothing else was left to go wrong, the black cat that was Eraserhead had to cross her path. Again.

His eyes glared an angry red at her, waiting, expectant. His question still hung in the air, stale, as her mind raced to find a suitable answer. Somehow, telling him "We were just hunting one of them to offer to the sadistic madman that owns this twisted maze." didn't seem like a good idea. So she did what she always did when she was out of options. She put on her most disarming smile.

She couldn't see his face to gauge his reaction, but apparently, that was the wrong response. Her smile was swiftly replaced by a grimace as his foot came down on her arm, hard, and she yelped in pain.

"That strike will only bruise," his monotone voice informed her. "I recommend you not take too many more, though. Trust me, crushed bones don't set easily."

"I don't know!" she shouted instinctively.

"I heard you talking just now. You were trailing one of them," he shot back, putting pressure on her now bruised arm. She inhaled sharply as she steeled herself against the pain. This had to be the most single minded man she had ever had the displeasure to meet. Charm was ineffective; denial was pointless, but she hadn't survived all that life had thrown her way by simply giving up. Staring into those unmoving, unfeeling eyes, she felt the cold defiance that had carried her through the years well up into barely controlled rage.

"What's wrong Eraser?" she spit, glaring daggers at him. "Afraid you'll have to apologize to the press for failing again?"

He didn't answer. Didn't even move. For a moment, she wondered if he had been stunned into silence. Then the pressure on her arm increased again as he leaned down toward her. The faint red glow of his goggles reflected off her face and back to his, revealing a terrible Cheshire grin staring manically down at her. The jagged scar across his face reminded her of his warning.

"The logical thing to do in this situation, is answer truthfully," he informed her, the grin never leaving his face.

She grimaced, swallowing the bile that was rising to her throat. He wanted the truth, may as well make it hurt.

"Dead!" she tried to shout. Instead, it came out as a quivering half-laugh half-whimper.

For the first time, his expression broke. His crazed grin fell into a neutral frown, and, just for a moment, his eyes widened.

"You have ten seconds," he said with disturbing calm. "Talk, or I break your arm."

Taking what little satisfaction she could in breaking his calm facade, she took the plunge. "Bug Spray shot the green runt up with enough venom to kill a horse. He's probably lying face down, drowned on his own spit."

She forced a chuckle to up the shock factor, and, to her delighted surprise, it worked. His grip loosened as he staggered back. She took the opening and stood, pulling free of the bindings and running down the hall. As she ran, she activated her quirk, blocking the pro hero's line of sight.

The elation of freedom lasted all of five steps before she felt a series of sharp needles drive into her back. She staggered, but kept running, blind through the corridor. Her ears were buzzing and her head felt strangely heavy, but she pressed on. It was only when she felt the cold concrete that she realized she had fallen. She didn't have enough time to consider the fact before her muscles locked up, stiff and unresponsive. As the sound of footsteps approached her, she could do nothing but silently curse her luck once again.

* * *

Izuku let out a tired sigh as he kicked off his shoes by the door.

"I'm home!" he called down the hall to his mother.

"Welcome back!" he heard her call back.

He shuffled down the hall and into the living area, favoring his right leg. Training had run overtime that day and he would be feeling the effects for at least a week. He had also been a little concerned when Kaminari, still half fried, tried to start a conversation with his desk, but Jiro had gotten his attention and taken him to see Recovery Girl. Still, the day wasn't a complete wash if All Might was cooking.

…

He did a double take, his tired brain only just registering what he was seeing. All Might was standing at the counter, a large mixing bowl cradled in one massive arm while the other whisked away at whatever concoction he was working on faster than his mom's electric mixer. He looked at him; his permanent grin shone bright, and a red, white, and blue apron with the words "The cook is here!" splayed across it was hanging from his torso.

"Welcome home, young Midoriya!" the hero bellowed.

"A-All Might," he managed to stutter. "What are you doing here?"

"Baking!" he answered, still whisking at top speed.

"Baking," he parroted back dumbly. "Am I dreaming?"

"Mhmm," his mother hummed in answer. He turned to see her walking out of her room, phone pressed to one ear.

"Mhmm," she hummed again. "That's perfect, thanks!" She ended the call and turned to look at Izuku. "You're home early. I wasn't expecting you for another hour at least."

"I'm actually a little late," he pointed out, still slightly dazed from the shock of seeing his mentor baking in his kitchen.

She looked back at her phone, her eyes growing wide in realization.

"Oh no!" she shouted. "How did I miss that!? I haven't put the plates out, or put the banner up, or-"

"It's all right!" All Might called from the kitchen. They both turned to look at him, heads tilting in unison. "Why you ask?" he continued. He thrust the whisk out toward the living room in an energetic gesture. "Because I have already handled the arrangements!"

They followed his arm, and sure enough, the living room was decorated with colorful balloons. A table had been set out with red and blue, plastic plates and cups. Also on the table were a number of oddly shaped party hats. Above it all was a banner that read "Happy Birthday Izuku!"

His mother sighed in relief, but he was just left with more questions. Normally they had a special meal, just the two of them to celebrate. Who else was coming? How had he forgotten his own birthday? As if in response to his question, a knock sounded at the door.

"Why don't you get that," his mother told him with a smile. "I'm going to help All Might finish the cooking."

Izuku nodded dumbly and walked to the door. His head was spinning by the time he reached it.

"Midoriya!?" Iida's voice boomed as he pulled the door open. "What are you doing here already!? Kaminari was supposed to detain you after class!"

"Calm down, Iida," Todoroki chided. "That's no way to greet him."

Izuku's eyes darted back and forth between them. They were still dressed in their school uniforms, but each of them carried a box under their arm. Presents? For him?

"Hey!" a cheerful voice called from down the walkway. They all turned to see Uraraka coming up the stairs, smiling brightly and followed by Tsuyu. They were both carrying colorful bags.

"Eh? Deku?" Uraraka spoke, catching sight of her classmate, still standing, dumbfounded, at the door. Her face fell. "Don't tell me we're late!" she moaned in dismay.

"We're on time," Tsuyu assured her. "Kaminari probably failed."

"Huh, you're probably right. Maybe we should have asked Tokoyami to be the distraction…. Anyway!" she perked up, turning to Izuku. "Happy birthday, Deku!"

"Yes, Happy birthday, Midoriya!" Iida shouted too.

"You guys…." Izuku muttered, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

"Izuku!" Inko called from inside. "Don't leave your friends standing outside."

"Right!" he yelped, jumping to attention. "Please, come in!"

"Thanks for having us!" they all called in unison, stepping past him and into the apartment. He closed the door behind them, pausing briefly when he heard the distant sound of thunder. Looking out over the skyline, he saw no clouds, but that didn't mean there couldn't be some hidden behind the building. Shrugging to himself, he turned away from the door and joined the others.

Uraraka was barely suppressing a fit of laughter at All Might's apron while the others were making small talk with his mother. His body wasn't sure if he should be blushing, crying, or both, so he stood there, frozen for a moment before joining them.

"It was actually Ochaco and Iida's idea," Tsuyu stated as they were seated in the living room, waiting for the food to be prepared.

"Really?" Izuku asked, looking to the two for confirmation.

"Kinda," Uraraka answered sheepishly, scratching at the back of her head.

"We thought it would be a good reason to celebrate," Iida replied. "All Might-sensei heard us discussing it after class and offered to help."

"So that's why he's here…."

"Deku, you should open your gifts!" Uraraka encouraged, passing her parcel to him.

"Ah, thank you," he said, nervously taking the package. He fished through the tissue paper in the bag and pulled out a small box made of clear plastic. Inside was a red and blue alarm clock with the words "Plus Ultra!" written on its face.

"It's so you can wake up," she explained solemnly.

"Thanks," he said with a smile that was equal parts gratitude and confusion.

"Here, open this one next," Todoroki said, passing his box over to him. Izuku took it and tore the paper from it. The lid snapped open in a spray of packing peanuts. He swept them aside and pulled out a framed print of All Might in his Golden Age costume striking a pose with his back to the camera. Below his portrait were the words "Wake Up!" written in bold letters.

He looked back up in confusion at his classmates, but found that he was sitting alone. The lights had gone out, and the thunder sounded louder outside. He stood and ran to the hallway.

"Mom?" he called into the empty corridor. "All Might?"

No one answered. He turned back to the living room to get his phone, but pulled up short when he saw that the TV was on. It was playing an old interview All Might had done a couple of years after his debut. He and the news anchor were laughing at something.

"Thank you again for coming tonight, All Might," the newscaster said, wiping a tear from his eye. "If it's alright, I have just one more question."

"Of course!" the hero's jovial voice boomed.

"Since your debut, you've quickly risen to the rank of number one hero in the country. What would you tell the next generation of heroes is the most important thing for a hero to have?"

All Might was silent for a moment, considering. When he looked up, his eyes were both clear and solemn.

"The most important thing for a hero to have is-"

The alarm clock began ringing shrilly, and the thunder broke above the building, rattling the whole structure. The floor and walls fell, sending him tumbling into darkness.

* * *

Uraraka was beginning to wonder at the sanity of her classmates. Sure, there had been many signs over the past year that they weren't all there, but she had accepted it as being their unique personalities. But seeing Bakugo trying to wake Deku with explosions was beginning to push even her ability to accept strange behavior.

She had been relieved to find he was breathing, but his slow pulse and non-responsiveness had quickly betrayed his sedated status. Kirishima and Todoroki had made sure the doors were secure, while she tried to wake him. Gently. Bakugo's fuse was as short as ever, however, and after only a minute he was trying more forceful methods.

"Oi, you sure that won't damage his hearing?" Kirishima asked.

"Shut up! Of course not!" Bakugo snapped back. "How this nerd can sleep through this is a myst-"

"Waaaah!" Izuku shouted in surprise as he jolted awake, limbs flailing wildly as he tried to rise only to be pushed back down by an ill timed blast from Bakugo.

"Deku!" Uraraka exclaimed in concern while Bakugo stared, dumbfounded, at his rival.

"I'm okay" he moaned as the others began to gather around him. He took Todoroki's proffered hand and let himself be pulled to a kneeling position.

"What happened to you?" Kirishima asked, pointing at his bandaged head.

"Not sure," he admitted, rolling his eyes to drive the sleep from them. "Where are we?"

"Looks like a boiler room," Todoroki answered. "We found you asleep in here."

"Asleep?" he asked. Then he recalled his encounter with the villains. "It must have been Bug Spray. I got stung by some of his insects. Must have had some kind of sedative in them."

"It makes sense," Todoroki nodded.

"Did you find Aizawa-sensei?"

Todoroki grimaced. He briefly relayed what they had learned and experienced since their last meeting. He was interrupted only a couple of times for clarification, and when he had finished, Deku was left with a concerned frown on his face.

"So the clues I found really weren't red herrings," he said, muttering into his hand while his classmates looked on. "It's true that Shadowmark's quirk was never released to the public, and even after his capture his motives were never revealed. Are these other villains henchmen or just part of his quirk? But he's never been known to work with henchmen even though that would explain some of his crimes so we can't rule it out or-"

"Shut up already!" Bakugo shouted, stalking the perimeter of the room. "If you found something, spit it out! We don't need one of your mutter storms right now!"

"Take it easy, man," Kirishima chided.

"No, he's right," Deku admitted. "Long story short, I think I found Shadowmark's current hideout."

"That's...kinda important," Uraraka stated flatly.

"Sorry, I've been tossed around a lot tonight…."

"Did you learn anything useful?" Todoroki asked.

"Nothing groundbreaking," Deku admitted. "He seems to be acting out of some personal vendetta. He had some articles up about All Might."

"He was mostly responsible for his capture," Todoroki pointed out.

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with us?" Kirishima questioned.

"It doesn't have to be about us," Uraraka replied. "We were probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Or he wants to get to All Might through us," Bakugo interjected. They drank in that prospect in somber silence.

"So what do we do?" Kirishima asked after a moment.

"You play the game," Shadowmark answered.

They all whirled, turning to face different doors. Todoroki's flames raged, casting their shadows across the walls and driving the darkness from the corners of the room.

"Where are you looking?" they each heard from behind them. They responded instantly. Uraraka and Deku both turned toward the voice and leapt back. Kirishima took a defensive stance, low to the ground while activating his quirk. Todoroki launched an ice spike while Bakugo fired off an explosion, sending dust and shards of ice into the air.

"Did they get him?" Kirishima asked, oblivious to the dark form slowly rising behind him.

* * *

Aizawa stared at Somnus' unmoving form. The writhing form of the dying insects on her back were barely visible in the dim light. He turned back to see Bug Spray standing shakily, one hand clutching his head. Aizawa regarded him coolly.

"So you're the one that leaked your group's location," he said. It wasn't a question. Tsukauchi had only cited an anonymous tip when delivering the dossier. The villain's hands moved, signing out his answer.

"I wanted an out," he signed. "But killing kids isn't what I signed up for."

"What about Midoriya?" the teacher queried.

"Sedated," came the answer.

"And where is he now?"

"Lost."

"I thought you were tracking him."

"I was trying to stall."

The pro hero stared impassively at the villain turned traitor, measuring his claims carefully.

"Lead me to where you found him," he ordered, moving to cuff Somnus. He hauled her up and rebound the unconscious Goliath, dragging him along as he followed Bug Spray down the corridor. The faint buzzing of insects echoed ahead of them, and Eraserhead was careful to keep the villain within eyesight just in case it was an elaborate trap. Informant or not, giving this man his unwavering trust would be the height of irrationality.

His caution proved unnecessary, however. After a series of seemingly random turns, they found themselves at a four way intersection lit dimly by an overhead bulb. As they came to a stop the insects that had been leading the way split off to the right and the left.

"They will search for your students," Bug Spray signed. Aizawa nodded in acknowledgement. Bug Spray turned and walked to the path forward, and he followed. Faint light from ahead illuminated a short staircase and a bent, iron door. He pushed past Bug Spray and moved into the room beyond the door. Feeling at the wall, he found a switch and winced as the overhead light brightly illuminated the room. Once his vision had adjusted he deposited the still unconscious villains on the ground and looked to see the source of the original light.

Three computer monitors were active on an iron desk. Approaching, he saw the news articles and video displayed there. He took the mouse and navigated away from the open pages. He looked briefly to the door upon hearing Bug Spray enter the room. The man surveyed the room briefly before turning to watch the door.

Aizawa turned back to the monitors and began searching through the computer's files. Less than a third of the hard drive was being used, so there could only be so much the villain kept here. What he found, made him wish he had left the machine alone. There were a number of documents left with no identifier beyond a particular date. One was dated for today.

He scanned it quickly, eyes widening at the journal entry of a mad man. He described tracking them from the time they had left campus until they entered the lodge and his glee at recapturing "the cheater". Aizawa frowned at the last part. To his knowledge, none of them had ever been in a situation quite like this. Reaching the bottom of the page, he saw that the entry had been signed. He read the signature twice, not sure if it was a pseudonym or if he was careless enough to leave his real name to be found.

He opened the native mail client on another monitor. He typed a brief message and addressed it to both Tsukauchi and the principal. The sound of swarming insects caused him to whirl about quickly. Arcs of red plasma were cutting a swathe through the swarm, sizzling and popping as the insects briefly caught fire. Bug Spray dove aside as the swarm disintegrated, taking a glancing blow to the shoulder that sent him rolling across the floor.

Through the door stepped a man in a long black coat and a black carnival mask. Aizawa activated his quirk in an instant. He could feel his arm and his face both ache dully from their old wounds.

"You peeked," the villain said, his deep voice grating behind the mask.

"I should have guessed you'd be with the League," Eraserhead answered bluntly.

"The League?" Shadowmark questioned, tilting his head. "Those children were kind enough to set me free, but there can only be one game master here, Eraserhead."

"Just what do you want? Who is this cheater?"

"One for All."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You will find out before the night is over unless you refuse to play the game."

"I'm not really the gaming type."

"Is that because you are a hero?" When Eraserhead refused to answer, he continued. "You heroes always spout the same nonsense. If you won't play, I can up the ante." He turned to leave, and Eraserhead pounced after him. His line of sight was broken for an instant, less than a second, but it was enough. The man was gone.

"Just know," his voice echoed off the walls, "you asked for this."

* * *

Bakugo found himself cursing the cold for what felt like the hundredth time that night. Heaters would be a necessary addition to his costume when they got back to school. For now, however, he just had to hope that Todoroki's flames would warm the area fast enough for his explosions to begin ramping up. Not that he would ever admit to having such a thought.

He whirled and sent a blast into another of the shadow things. They seemed to be endless in number. Deku and Uraraka were keeping them off Kirishima as best they could while he and Todoroki were on the offensive, but the fight had already been going for ten minutes and there had been no pause.

As if sensing his thoughts, the creatures stopped in their tracks. He pulled up in confusion, expecting a trap.

"Little heroes," Shadowmark spoke from nowhere again. "It seems you do not wish to play this game, do you?"

"Why the hell would we?!" Bakugo shouted back.

"A shame. Perhaps if you had a damsel to save? Heroes always seem so eager to help a damsel in distress."

The shadows moved then, blitzing and rushing toward Uraraka. Deku dove into their path and cut through a row of them with a plasma laced kick.

"Oh no you don't!" Uraraka shouted, picking up a large iron pipe. "I'm not some damsel!" She swung the pipe, battering aside another row as Todoroki set up a ring of fire about them. The shadows withdrew, cowering before the flames.

"Ha! Not so tough now are you!?" Bakugo shouted, relishing the reprieve and the heat. It was short lived, however.

A door behind them burst open, and a wave of red energy rolled over them. Each of them was flung backwards, ragdolling through the air. Bakugo fought back a scream as every nerve in his body felt like it was on fire. He rolled hard, struggling to lift himself back off the ground.

Shadowmark stepped through the door, his gait calm and confident. He strode straight for the unmoving Uraraka. She yelped and attempted to struggle as he lifted her off the ground. Two rapid strikes to the temple silenced her protests quickly enough.

"Uraraka…." Deku managed to gasp out, struggling to get to his feet. Bakugo's own limbs weren't responding, but somehow his rival's were, if only barely.

"Don't worry," Shadowmark reassured them. "You have another hour. If you haven't decided to play the game by then, she will be the first to die."

"I won't...let you…" Deku growled, rising even as Shadowmark stepped through the door he had come through. "Wait!"

Deku leapt at the door as it was pulled closed. The green lightning of his quirk raced about in a barely contained maelstrom as his control began to slip. But before he reached the door, it swung open suddenly revealing a panting Eraserhead and a staggering Bug Spray. Deku's momentum was too great for him to stop, but Eraserhead's reaction time was better. In an instant, the lightning vanished as he erased his student's quirk and snatched his arm. He pulled him sideways, redirecting him harmlessly to the side.

"Sensei?" Deku breathed in surprise. "How?"

The teacher looked over them all as they struggled to their feet.

"What happened here?"


	7. Dawn

**Hey all,**

 **This chapter was a doozy to write, but I think it turned out pretty good.**

 **As always, big thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed. I appreciate it and am glad you all are enjoying the story. :)**

* * *

Aizawa looked over his battered students. Their faces were a mosaic of emotions. Bakugo was grinding his teeth, the veins on his forehead swollen almost to bursting. Kirishima was grimacing, clutching at his broken arm while averting his gaze to disguise the pain. Todoroki was doing his best to stay composed as he related the events of the evening, stopping only twice for input from Kirishima. Midoriya was silent.

As he bound the captured villains to the darkened furnace, he cast a sidelong look at the troublesome student. He could guess at what was going through his head, because it was also going through his. The sense of utter failure. This routine mission had turned into a nightmare they would be lucky to survive. It was true that in the field, things always had a chance to be more dangerous than they first appeared, but this was something he never could have predicted. Semi-pros though they may be, they were still his students, and that made him responsible.

Finishing his task by placing a muzzle over each of the villains' mouths, he stood and turned to his students. Todoroki's explanation finished, he looked over them once again. They were still in danger, but their comrade's situation was all the more deadly. They needed a plan.

"Can you track her?" he asked, turning to face Bug Spray and ignoring the confused looks from his students.

The villain nodded, signing out "I can try." He moved to the door Shadowmark had left through and sent a stream of insects through.

"Bug Spray was our informant for this mission," Aizawa answered the looks from his students.

"So that's why he let us go," Kirishima said, eyes widening in realization.

Aizawa nodded. "That's not important right now. What is important is that we find Uraraka as quickly as possible. An hour is a small window, and we've already used too much of it."

"When we find them, I'm gonna kill that bastard," Bakugo growled.

"Be real, man," Kirishima protested. "He's kicked our butts every time we've gone up against him. We don't even know what his quirk is!"

"That's because he has more than one," Aizawa interjected before Bakugo could argue more. The statement was enough to gain their full attention. He continued. "I found a journal entry on his computer. I don't know if it was a pseudonym or if he signed with his real name, but the name he used was Kotsubeki Nomu."

"Nomu?" Kirishima asked. "You mean the same as those zombie monsters from the League of Villains?"

"I think so," he answered. "When I asked about the League, he claimed no connection aside from them being the ones responsible for his escape."

"But he's lucid," Todoroki pointed out. "Intelligent even."

"I don't understand all of the details yet myself, but it's safe to assume most of tonight's events have been orchestrated by or through his quirks."

Bakugo swore under his breath, but the rest remained silent, digesting the information.

"Fortunately, he doesn't have the same physical strength of the one that attacked the USJ," he continued after a moment. "If I can see the real one, I can shut down all of his quirks. This is probably why he separated me from the rest of you early on."

"That makes sense," Todoroki said, putting a hand to his chin in thought. "But why would he allow you to rejoin us now?"

"Because it doesn't matter," Midoriya finally spoke up. Aizawa looked at him. He was facing the floor, hands clenched into fists and shaking. "I'm sorry," he said. "This is all because of me."

"Oi, Deku," Bakugo growled dangerously, but Midoriya turned quickly, ignoring his rival as he met his teacher's gaze.

"I have a plan," he said, eyes clear and determined. "But I can't say what it is because he's probably listening to us like before. Give me one minute, please."

Aizawa regarded him neutrally. The boy was impulsive, to be sure, and his body and experience were still playing catch up to his mind. That said, he was right about the risk of eavesdropping. Judging from Bakugo's reaction, they both knew something he didn't. Knowing them, All Might was involved somehow. When they returned to the school, he would need to force the man to explain. Still, he couldn't deny the surety in his student's gaze.

"Very well," he said, deciding to ignore his better judgement. "One minute."

Midoriya nodded in response and turned toward the door.

"Hold up!" Bakugo shouted with a snarl. "I'm coming too!"

"No," Midoriya answered quietly.

"What did you say?"

"For my plan to work, you need to stay with the others." He fixed his rival with a level gaze as the rest watched, oblivious to silent exchange. After a minute, Bakugo relented.

"Fine," he spat in dissatisfaction. "But we're gonna be right behind, so don't screw this up!"

"I won't," Midoriya answered, giving him a thumbs up.

"Just go already."

Midoriya nodded. The green plasma of his Full Cowl wreathed his body. He coiled his legs and lunged at the door, splintering it with a kick and racing into the darkness beyond. They all watched him go as Aizawa counted off the seconds in his head, hoping he hadn't made a terrible mistake.

* * *

Uraraka remembered her childhood fondly. While her family never had very much, they had always had each other. Some of her favorite memories were of the three of them, cuddled up on the couch after dinner to watch a movie. More often than not, she would fall asleep part way through, and her dad would gently carry her to bed. The arms carrying her now, were not so gentle.

As her consciousness returned, she bit back a groan. Her head was throbbing from Shadowmark's sharp blow. If he realized she had returned to consciousness, he didn't show it. She kept still and limp as she could. She was draped over his left shoulder. The space about the was dark, leaving her wondering, at first, at his ability to navigate without light, but, upon recalling his earlier feats, she supposed she shouldn't be too surprised.

Taking advantage of the motion forced upon her limp limbs by his walking pace, she let one of her hands swing away from her. Unbound. That was good. That was very good. She could feel that she was still wearing her boots and couldn't imagine that he would have anything to bind her ankles with while she was.

She drew in a deep, slow breath, steeling her nerves. Her mind entered that strange place between frenzy and calm, and the world about her seemed to slow. Then she moved. Her hands shot out, her left reaching around to grab his throat, her right shooting back to grab the wrist pressed against her back. She felt skin under each hand and made sure her grip allowed all five fingers to connect. Then she kicked her legs up, pushing his arm away just enough to let her swing over his shoulder. Her weight, now greater than his, combined with the momentum of her flip carried them to the ground. She landed with her feet under her. He landed, head first, on the concrete before springing back into the air, suspended by her quirk.

She pulled herself upright and ran, not trusting her chances in a drawn out fight with him after their last encounter. She staggered at first, reaching out to find a wall. She found one after only a moment and let her hand run along it to guide her escape. After a couple of minutes, she slowed to listen. No footsteps sounded behind her. Maybe she had knocked him out?

Deciding that she could only go so far without her sight, she pulled out her light and clicked it on. The pale beam showed her what she had expected. Barren concrete walls leading off into darkness. She sighed and continued on her way.

"I see you," Shadowmark's voice echoed from ahead. She pulled up sharply, unsure if he was there or if he was casting his voice again. "All of you shine so brightly," he continued.

"Why are you doing this?" she demanded through grit teeth. "What do you gain here?"

"Gain?" he asked. "Why would I need to gain anything? I am satisfied simply pulling the mask from the face of this paradoxical society."

The voice was still coming from the same direction. She cast her light behind her to make sure he wasn't sneaking up behind her and saw only an empty hall. She couldn't stay here. She was too exposed. But was the voice ahead a bluff or had he really managed to get in front of her? She could feel the strain of her quirk, so he shouldn't have been able to move too far.

"I'm pretty sure you're the one wearing a mask here," she shot back, choosing to push onward.

"How else am I supposed to fit in with all of you?" he asked, this time from behind, back the way she had come, and all too close. She turned her light to face him and took a step backward, ready to flee. He was pulling himself along the wall like a spider. "After all," he continued, oblivious or uncaring of her unease as he reached up for his mask. "You're all so blind."

He pulled the mask up, showing his face for the first time. Uraraka's eyes went wide. Beneath the mask was an aging face. A scruffy half beard wrapped his chin, black with flecks of grey. His mouth was stretched wide in a crazed smile. But his eyes, she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. Her free hand went to her mouth, stifling a gasp as a cold sweat began to break out across her forehead. His eyelids had been stapled open, and behind them were empty sockets where his eyes should have been.

"Release!" she shouted, touching her fingers together. The slowly building nausea fell away as the villain fell off the wall and tumbled to the ground. He began rising, but she was already running. She heard his deep voice laughing after her.

As she ran, she chided herself. Sure, releasing her quirk had given her a slight head start, but she couldn't help but feel she had sacrificed her only advantage. She shook the doubt from her head. She could reflect on her choices later. She hoped that would be true anyway.

Coming to a fork, she took the corridor to her left, not pausing to give Shadowmark any time to gain on her. For the first time that night, fear, raw and unrelenting fear began to worm its way into her mind. She pushed it down as best she could, but the weight of her situation wasn't something she could ignore.

Coming to a door, she pulled it open and rushed through. She stopped suddenly as a shape moved into her light and struck her across her torso. She tumbled backward, breath driven from her lungs. She scrambled backward, getting her feet back underneath her and shining her light ahead again as she struggled to breathe. A section of the darkness had detached itself from her periphery and was stretched across her path, and beyond it, Shadowmark walked casually toward her, mask back in place. He waved a hand and the darkness returned to its original place on the wall.

"It's rude to leave in the middle of a conversation," he chided her. She coughed and stood, taking a ready stance.

It's just like the doors from before, she thought to herself. He must be able to change where they lead.

She took a step backward, left hand reaching back to find the door. She felt only empty air behind her. She had managed to get a few paces in before she was stopped.

"Why the game?" she asked, hoping to stall long enough to come up with a plan. His head tilted curiously as he regarded her from behind the black porcelain.

"Why not?" he answered. She felt a snarl beginning to take shape on her face as she weighed the implications of his answer.

"Are other people's lives really just a commodity to you?"

"This shouldn't surprise you. After all, isn't this true of everyone? People lie and cheat everyday to gain an advantage over their peers. The gossip mongers tear down whoever they want for sport, and those with power constantly lord it over those without. My game is the same that everyone plays every day, but this time, we'll show the blood. Because at the end of the day, there is no One for All. We are all All for One."

Uraraka absorbed his explanation in silence. His rhetoric was no different than that spread by the media every day since the Hero Killer's defeat. Still, she couldn't help the slight smile that graced her features as she weighed his words.

"I really don't get it," she said, not looking directly at him. There were no features to read anyway with his mask in place. "I don't get what your obsession is with 'One for All' as you put it. People are selfish, it's true. There's so much wrong with the world, and it's our fault. But that's why there are heroes! Real ones! The ones that will set aside every hope and dream of their own because someone else is in trouble! The ones that will step in to save someone they don't even know even if it costs them everything! I've seen it over and over again. That's why you won't convince me that you're right. That's why we won't give you anyone or anything!"

She lunged forward, hoping he would leave an opening. He underestimated her, she knew that. If she could disable him, or at least inconvenience him, enough to give her friends a better chance, that would be enough for her. It wasn't as if she was going to escape him.

As she drew near, she thrust her right hand out, letting her left hand trail behind. "Even if you can break out, it's best not to have both hands taken at once," Gunhead had told her. "The momentum you lose in breaking out is worth more to the fight than either one of them." As she drew near, Shadowmark didn't move, didn't take any kind of stance to stop her. With a scream of rage and determination she drove her hand into him. Through him.

She watched in shock as her hand passed through the villain, phasing through as if he were thin air. Then his form dissolved into motes of shadow. An illusion! she realized too late. A heavy blow landed across her back and knocked her straight into the concrete floor. She gasped as the breath was knocked from her again and almost bit her tongue as her chin connected with the ground. She groaned in pain, her strength fading as she felt a heavy boot land between her shoulders and a hand like iron gripped the back of her neck.

"You really are more troublesome than you look," Shadowmark raised her as he lifted her from the ground. She reached up, trying to grab at his hand, but something hard wrapped around her wrists. Her eyes tried to focus on it, but it refused to be resolved beyond a vaguely human shape. Another of the shadow creatures. It reached down to her belt and crushed the light, leaving her in darkness again.

* * *

Izuku darted through the halls, kicking off every available surface and leaving deep gouges where his iron boots struck. Flashes of green light revealed the path ahead of him. As he ran, he struggled to fight down the feeling of failure that was worming its way ever so steadily into his psyche. Seeing his friend carried off while he was helpless to do anything felt terrible the first time. This time, with full use of his body, he had failed to save her.

I won't fail this time, he thought as he smashed another door to splinters. He wasn't sure if the doors were necessary to Shadowmark's quirk or if he just found them more convenient, he didn't know. He also didn't really care. Despite himself, he found the destructive practice a welcome release from the evening's tension.

The more he ran, the more doubt began to set in. Not a day went by that he didn't feel the weight of his responsibility as the ninth holder of One for All. The burden was enormous. Some small part of him wondered if it wouldn't have been better for everyone if he had given it to Mirio. He was certainly more capable, he seemed to hear his old classmates shout in agreement. He shook the thoughts from his head. All Might chose me for a reason, he reminded himself. Now, with his friend's life on the line, he didn't have time to indulge in self doubt.

He kicked another door down and sprinted into the empty hallway beyond. His head protested the haphazard movements and sudden stops, but he ignored it. It would have to wait until they were free. He let the thought drop, not willing to entertain the possibility that any of them would fail to escape. Instead, he focused his attention on the task at hand and prayed his plan would work.

* * *

Uraraka was quiet the rest of the journey. The long hours without food or rest were beginning to take their toll. Feelin the villain's grip like iron around her wrists and waist, she had attempted kicking him only to receive a hard blow to the head that left her dizzy. It was hard to tell in the perpetual darkness, but she guessed her captor was beginning to slow. As they turned a corner, her suspicion was confirmed. At the end of this hall, she saw a closed door, framed in light. Last stop, she thought grimly.

She trusted her friends to come for her, but she had seen enough since beginning her studies to know that things didn't always end the way you wanted them to. She fought against her growing dread as they drew near. He pulled the door open and stepped through. Looking over his shoulder, Uraraka wasn't sure what she had expected. A room filled with racks of torture tools maybe. What she saw was only a little better. It was a plain, if barren, bedroom. The bed itself was half covered with snow, still falling gently through an open hole in the ceiling. Brass candelabras stood in each corner, casting a flickering orange glow across the room. Affixed to the base of the wall left of the bed were two sets of chain which terminated after about a meter at iron manacles.

He moved toward the chains, and she struggled against him, adrenaline driving back her fatigue once again. Her struggle was vain. Still restrained and with no source of leverage to overcome their weight difference, she was steadily forced into the restraints. As soon as he released his grip on her, she lunged for him, the length of the chains allowing her greater reach than she would have hoped for, but it was not enough. Her blow stopped short as he took a step back from her.

"You should save your strength," he told her. "The game will be ending very soon." He stepped away and to the opposite side of the bed. Curtains ran from ceiling to floor and he drew them open to reveal a small window. Peering through she saw a lush, pine forest covered in fresh fallen snow beneath a the twilight of the approaching dawn. How long were we underground? she wondered silently. She slowly lowered herself to floor, intent on resting while she could. Silence fell between them that she was not eager to break. He simply stared wordlessly out the window while she watched him carefully for any sign of movement. She fiddled with the manacles, testing to see if they would be easily removed. To her dismay, they appeared to be relatively new.

"Why do you care so much about the idea of one for all?" she eventually asked, not sure she fully understood his fixation with the terminology.

"Because he is a fraud," he answered.

"He? You mean, you've been talking about someone specific?" He turned, regarding her silently.

"You should ask him yourself," he answered.

"What do you-"

Before she could finish formulating her sentence the door to the room splintered apart.

"Deku!" she shouted as he came to a stop just beyond the doorway. He was crouched low, glaring dangerously at the villain. Her first feeling was relief. She wasn't alone anymore, he had come. Her second was confusion. He had come alone.

"Glad you could join us," Shadowmark spoke calmly, stepping back toward her before turning to face the newcomer. "One for All."

Uraraka stared dumbly at the villain. One for All? Deku was the One for All he was so obsessed with? She looked back at her friend, hoping for an easy answer. He was still staring at the villain, eyes narrowed now as he watched every move he made. If he was surprised, he didn't show it. Uraraka wasn't sure what she was supposed to think about this. She wasn't even sure what it meant! One thing was clear to her, however. As she thought back on their arrival, he and Bakugo had both seemed more surprised at the demand than any of them. She had suspected Deku knew something, but this was the last thing she had expected.

"I hope you're here to play," Shadowmark said, raising a hand toward her. His palm crackled with red plasma. "If not, she dies. I should warn you, I held back before." To demonstrate his point, he raised his other hand and fired a blast passed Deku's head. It passed through the wall behind him, leaving a smoking hole the size of her head. Deku didn't move.

"Let her go, Nomu," he ordered, sending her mind spinning again. She didn't have time to process the implications, however, because his next words stopped her cold. "Take me instead."

"No!" she shouted, even as Shadowmark began to chuckle.

"A noble gesture," he said. "But a gesture nonetheless."

"What do you-?" Deku began to question, but the sudden shout of "DIE!" from over his head was answer enough as Bakugo flew into the room, explosions ripping through the air as he rocketed toward the villain.

Shadowmark raised a hand and released a wave of energy at the explosive teenager. Bakugo used his quirk to propel himself sideways, out of the attack's path before charging back in. Before his attack could connect, his target leapt aside, away from Uraraka.

"Kacchan!" Deku shouted, jumping in to join the fray. "I told you to give me one minute!"

"What're you going on about, you damned nerd!?" Bakugo shot back. "I gave you your minute! You could at least have tried to do some damage before I caught up!"

"Where are the others?"

"Behind me somewhere."

Deku turned to Uraraka. He took her left wrist in his hands and tore the manacle open. He repeated the action on her right.

"What's going on, Deku?" she asked. "What does he want with you?"

The look he gave her was one of fear and shame. Did he think she blamed him? He couldn't have known any of this was going to happen. She just wanted to understand. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Tell me later, 'kay?" she asked gently, careful to keep her expression reassuring. He nodded in answer.

"If you two are done," Bakugo growled, still facing Shadowmark. The villain hadn't moved from where he had landed.

"You move well," he praised him.

"Yeah,that's not gonna save you," he spat back, summoning a series of small blasts in his palm.

"We need to hold him here until the others arrive," Deku said.

"You have a plan?" Uraraka asked.

"Not really," he admitted.

"Follow my lead," Bakugo said, speaking low. She looked to Deku, but he simply nodded.

"On your mark then."

Thankfully, she had known Bakugo long enough now to know countdowns weren't his sort of thing. He launched himself straight at their opponent, clearing the bed in under a second and filling his face with tiny explosions. Deku followed a moment later, leaping to the right in anticipation of Shadowmark's retreat. His prediction held true as the villain leapt from the smoke right toward him. He struck quickly, bring his foot down in a roundhouse too fast to be observed as more than a blur. The blow connected but only just as the villain brought up a hand to guard. Darkness wreathed his arm, protecting him from the worst of the impact and likely saving him from a broken arm. He disengaged quickly, bouncing back toward her. The opening she had been waiting for.

She lunged forward, both hands reaching out. Her touch managed to connect. She gripped the back of his coat and tumbled backward, taking advantage of his momentum to send him flying at the wall. He collided with it hard and bounced back toward her. Deku reached him in an instant, kicking him through the air toward Bakugo who gleefully blasted him back toward them. Before they could reach him again, however, Shadowmark brought his hands together in a thunderclap. A wave of red energy spread through the room. She rolled away, grunting in pain as her left arm took a glancing blow. It tingled slightly as if she had touched an electric fence. She spun back to face the villain. He sported a cracked mask, and his left arm appeared dislocated.

He hovered there, suspended by her quirk. The students tensed, ready for his next attack. Instead, they heard the chirping of an alarm. They stared, confused, but Shadowmark appeared unfazed. He reached up to his dislocated shoulder and popped it back into place with barely a thought then glanced at his left wrist. He tapped his watch, silencing the alarm.

"6:00 AM," he said. "Time's up."

She had no time to react. In an instant, his hands rose, pointing directly at her. Light sprang from his palms, so bright it was blinding. She stared transfixed in a single moment as she watched death approach.

* * *

They say that when you die, your life flashes before your eyes. But what happens when you have to watch someone else die? Turns out their life also flashes before your eyes, but only the parts you were present for. As Shadowmark spoke, his earlier threat sprang to mind. As the light gathered in his hands, Izuku knew what was coming, and his mind filled with memories.

He recalled the entrance exam. He was so overcome with anxiety, he could barely control his motor functions. For all that All Might had said and done to bolster his confidence, he couldn't quite dismiss the cruel voices of his classmates, tearing him down at any opportunity. When she, a complete stranger had cheered him on, he wasn't sure what to feel, but the warmth in his chest had been nice enough that he supposed it didn't matter.

When he saw the zero pointer, he was sure he was going to die, or worse, fail. He would have fled with the rest of them, but then he saw her, stuck under a fallen slab of concrete as the machine marched on. He had moved before he could even think, not willing to let her die. He never expected she would return the favor so quickly, but at his level of control he would probably have broken himself on the concrete even if he had managed to fire off a Detroit Smash. She had gone to Present Mic on his behalf, grateful for him saving her life, never considering that she had saved his in return.

As if that wasn't enough his nickname, that cursed moniker Katsuki had given him as an insult in kindergarten and had stuck all the way through middle school, she had taken it and reinterpreted it as a compliment. Years of negative feelings, self-doubt, anxiety, fear, loneliness, all of it was erased in an instant. She was always doing that. Whenever he doubted himself, she encouraged him. She was the first to support his strategies, and when she was hurting, she still did her best to support him.

She was the first friend he made an UA. She did more for him than she could ever realize. She was about to die. All Might's voice echoed through his mind.

"The most important thing for a hero to have is-"

Before the thought was finished his legs were moving.

* * *

Aizawa darted through the hallways, following the trail of destruction his most impulsive students had left for them to follow. He would be giving Bakugo an earful when this was over. Midoriya had permission to run ahead. He didn't. He could only hope whatever plan Midoriya had concocted wouldn't be thrown off by them being split up.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a shrill scream sounding from ahead. He stopped short, and Todoroki barely managed to avoid running into him. The voice was unmistakably Uraraka's. Midoriya had failed?

He raced forward, hurrying down the hall as fast as his legs could carry him. He heard the others following and trusted them to keep up. Coming to a fork, he took to the wall for a few strides as he hurried down the corridor to the right. At the end of the hall, he saw light pouring in through an open door. No, a shattered door. With a final burst of speed, he entered the room, taking stock immediately.

The room was quiet, eerily so. Bakugo was there, his face a mask of shock. Shadowmark was also there, hovering motionless in the air. Their gaze was fixed on Uraraka. She was on her knees, shaking as she faced down. There, held tightly in her arms was Midoriya, unmoving and pale. He watched, transfixed until he understood. He wasn't breathing.


	8. Live!

**Hey all,**

 **I wanna say before we get to the chapter that I was really happy to see how much you all enjoyed last chapter.**

 **Huge thanks as always to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed. I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far and hope you enjoy this chapter too. :)**

* * *

Tuesday, 6:01 AM

It had happened too fast. One moment her vision was filled with red, the next she was on the ground. That certainly fit the bill, but she didn't think she would still be conscious. Maybe her thoughts now were just her brain's last gasps or the first steps into the afterlife. She didn't think it should be so windy though. Where was that wind coming from though? She opened her eyes and found herself staring at a broken ceiling, a steady stream of snow falling through it. She was alive?

She lifted her head to find the room had stilled. Neither Bakugo nor Shadowmark were moving. They weren't even looking at her. Where was Deku? She followed their gazes. He was there, right where she had been a second ago, lying face down on the floor. He wasn't moving.

"Deku?" she called to him, not wanting to entertain the conclusion that was already solidifying in her mind. He didn't answer.

She rolled over onto her hands knees.

"C'mon, Deku," she said as she crawled over to him. "We're not done yet. Get up."

She shook his shoulder, trying to rouse him. He didn't stir. She felt panic beginning to set in, but she fought it. He was fine. Deku was always fine. He always found a way to pull through in the end. This was no different.

She turned him over onto his back. His eyes were closed and his face relaxed. She placed a hand to his neck, feeling for the pulse that would definitely be there. It had to be there. It wasn't there. She stared dumbly down at his lifeless body, trying to understand why. Why him? Why did he have to be the one to die? She was the one Shadowmark had wanted to kill, so why should he die instead?

She pulled him close, afraid to let go. The grief that filled her chest burned like fire and weighed in her gut like lead. She couldn't contain it. She screamed, long and raw. She screamed in anger and sorrow. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair!

But it was just like him, wasn't it? The day they had met, he had saved her life and destroyed three of his limbs in the process. He had sacrificed victory in the sports festival to help Todoroki face his demons. Even though Bakugo had secured his escape from their final exam, he returned to save his old bully. He had sacrificed both arms, and nearly lost his life, for Kota, a boy he barely knew and who was nothing but hostile to him. He had gone after Bakugo and saved Tokoyami from himself while still injured. Overhall had been stronger and more experienced, but he still hadn't hesitated to face him for the sake of a frightened child. Everywhere he went, no matter who it was, if someone needed saving he would do everything he could to help them, no matter the risk to himself. His every action screamed of the hero he wanted to be. The hero he already was. So much so that when she thought of what it meant to be a hero, she saw his face.

He couldn't die. She couldn't let him die. Not here. Not like this. She steadied her breathing, awareness returning to her. She heard footsteps behind her. Her allies were coming. They could help Bakugo. She needed to help Deku. She lowered him to the ground and placed her hands over his chest. She compressed firmly, barely glancing up when she saw Kirishima taking up a position between them and their enemy.

Come on, Deku, she prayed. You can do it. Wake up.

She moved her hands from his chest and tilted his head back. Opening his mouth and pinching his nose she covered his mouth with hers, forcing the air from her lungs into his. Breathe! She shouted in her mind as she moved back to chest compressions.

Breathe, Deku!

* * *

Bakugo stared at his rival's lifeless body, not quite sure what he should feel. It had been almost too fast for him to see what had happened. Almost. Before Shadowmark could fire off his quirk, Deku had moved. He had just managed to push Uraraka out of the way, but hadn't been fast enough to escape himself. For a split second, the boy's face wore an expression of incredible relief. Then the attack hit, and he watched as his back arched and his mouth spread in a silent, breathless scream before his whole body crumpled to the floor.

It didn't make any sense. For all he had always spouted off about how he wanted to be a hero, he never seemed to quite understand that heroes weren't supposed to lose. They weren't supposed to let the villains kill them. Winning was what made a hero. Everything else flowed out from victory.

A memory sprang unbidden to his mind. It was two years before he had entered middle school. He had come home and immediately turned on the news, hoping for stories or footage from the day's hero activities. To his great delight, All Might was being interviewed. He and the newscaster were laughing uproariously.

"Thank you again for coming tonight, All Might," the newscaster said, wiping a tear from his eye. "If it's alright, I have just one more question."  
"Of course!" the hero's jovial voice boomed.  
"Since your debut, you've quickly risen to the rank of number one hero in the country. What would you tell the next generation of heroes is the most important thing for a hero to have?"  
All Might was silent for a moment, considering. When he looked up, his eyes were both clear and solemn.  
"The most important thing for a hero to have is selflessness. The drive to help others at any cost, without witness or reward. The drive to do what is right regardless of what anyone thinks or who might be watching. The will to act when others are too afraid to move. These are the qualities that set heroes apart from villains."

Bakugo had scoffed at that, sure in his belief that the real difference between heroes and villains was that the hero always won. The hero always saved the day, no matter the odds. When Deku had failed to do anything useful against the sludge villain in his stupid attempt at heroism, he felt his beliefs validated even if it annoyed him to no end. Victory defined heroes, and that was why Deku could never be a hero. Not like him.

When he finally figured out the connection between All Might and Deku, he had been confused. Why would his hero choose someone so useless as Deku to take his quirk? When All Might had finally explained to his face, explained the dual nature of heroism and what it was they each lacked, he thought he had started to understand, even if it hurt. Now he wasn't so sure.

Hearing Uraraka's screams as she held Deku's body, he couldn't help but wonder if he had understood what All Might had said at all. If he had to guess now, he would say no. It had showed him a lot about himself that he would have rather not known. He had learned to see things through another's point of view and to see the weakness in himself. He had sworn then he wouldn't lose to Deku again, but now, he thought that with his last act, Deku might have defeated him again.

The thought, strangely, didn't bother him. What did bother him was that Shadowmark was still breathing and seemed no worse off for what they'd thrown at him. In his periphery, he saw the rest of his allies entering the room. They were taken aback by the turn of events without a doubt, but they didn't have time to gawk.

He felt his anger building, fueling him. It was the familiar force driving him to destroy his enemy, but he knew this enemy was too much for him. He felt his pride swelling up, but chose to fight it down. For what might have been only the second time in his life, he cared more about winning than about how he won. Victory against this foe wouldn't come by fighting alone.

* * *

Shadowmark stared impassively at the scene unfolding below. One for All had broken the rules again. As the game master, he had decreed the girl would die at the turn of the hour. To the end, the man was nothing but a nuisance, a cheater. But he had died, so the penalty had been paid in the long run. Everything balanced out in the end. Except, some part of him was deeply bothered by the hero's actions. They didn't fit, not in his game, not in this world. One for All was a lie. It was a lie born of those too weak to accept the truth of All for One. Those that pretended to defy this truth were worse than scum. The frauds were the same as anyone else, and when push came to shove they would show it. In the end, their sanctimonious facade would crumble away to reveal that everything they did was for themselves.

So why? Why had he chosen to die in her place? He couldn't fathom it. It went against everything this world was built upon. Unless, he considered, it was out of spite. That had to be it. He couldn't win the game, so he would at least lose in a way that would spite him. This wouldn't stand. He had accomplished nothing in the end. His friends would be punished in his place. They would suffer and die for his spite.

The other players were entering the room, including the troublemaker, Eraserhead. He would be the key to his undoing if left unchecked. He conjured a set of illusions for them to play with while he himself slipped into the shadows. He wouldn't lose. He couldn't. Time was on his side after all. He had only to wait.

* * *

Todoroki absorbed the scene in silence. They had been too slow. He had been too slow. The rest of them couldn't have kept pace with Bakugo, but he could. If he had chased after his classmate, he might have been able to prevent this.

Above, Shadowmark was taking action, apparently unhindered by Uraraka's quirk. As the villain's form split into three, Todoroki felt his anger rise, cold and harsh as the storm that had stranded them here. Ice sprang from his left side, covering the floors, the walls, the ceiling. He was careful to leave his friends free to move, but he would allow neither retreat nor escape from this room.

He saw Kirishima run toward Uraraka and Midoriya, but he kept his eyes trained on the villain's images hovering above them. He shot a brief glance toward Bakugo and managed to catch his eye. An unspoken understanding passed between them. Whatever rivalry existed between them didn't matter in this moment. For once, their goals and desires were aligned. It didn't matter to them who won, so long as it wasn't this villain.

He turned his focus back to Shadowmark, unsure of which was the real one. Aizawa appeared beside him, hair flying as he fixed Shadowmark with a hard glare. Despite this, a mote of red light appeared in the hands of each copy. All illusions then. No need to hold back. From his left hand, a searing jet of flame sprang toward the images. Light scattered off the ice, driving the shadows from every corner of the room and banishing the illusions. For a moment, they were all blinded by the display, but Shadowmark recovered first.

A deep rumble from behind caused him to spin to his right, but the shadow monster that had appeared there wasn't interested in him. It swung one massive arm at his teacher. The pro caught the blow against his forearm, but the force behind it still sent him sliding into the opposite wall. The creature chased immediately, driving itself and Aizawa through the wall and into the forest beyond. They tumbled out of sight, and Todoroki swore. In a swift, if impulsive, decision he closed the hole over with ice. Better to keep the killer in here with them than to offer him an escape to the outside world.

Shadowmark himself was standing in the corner of the room. His cracked mask stared at them without expression as he raised his hands to strike. Light gathered in his palms, but his aim was fouled as Bakugo rushed into melee. He let loose on the villain. The sound from his explosions echoed wildly off the ice, reverberating about the room. His proximity meant Todoroki couldn't go on the offensive, but that was fine. He fired off another line of ice, cutting off the villain's retreat. Bakugo, seeing a chance to deal a decisive strike, lunged for the man's throat. His attack was intercepted as his own shadow rose to meet him, a tendril of darkness that wrapped itself around his arm and held him back. He reached over with his other arm to pull himself free, but Shadowmark rushed in, seeing an opening. Unfortunately for him, this was the opening Bakugo wanted as well. A soft click sounded as he pulled the pin on his gauntlet, then came the blast. Todoroki had seen it from the observation deck once and had felt something near its scale during the sports festival. Were it not for the nature of his own quirk, the firestorm unleashed from his classmate's gear might have left him in shock. The air ignited suddenly, and what ice wasn't shattered from the shock wave began to melt. It was only his quick reaction time that saved the rest of them from being caught in the blast as well. In the instant he had heard the pin pulled, he summoned a wall of ice around himself and his classmates, making sure to make it extra thick around Uraraka and Midoriya so that she could safely continue her life saving efforts.

The smoke hung thick in the air, stabbing at his eyes and stinging his throat, but he endured it, watching for any signs of movement. No one should be able to endure that sort of blast from point blank, but tonight had been a night of impossibilities. A slight displacement of the smoke ahead caused him to tense in anticipation of an attack, but he relaxed a moment later as Bakugo stepped out of it.

"Did you get him," Todoroki asked, not quite ready to believe it. Bakugo shot him a cocky grin in response, but it faded as they heard a growl from behind the curtain of ash.

"I'll remember that attack," Shadowmark's low voice grumbled as he stepped from the quickly fading smoke. His mask was shattered, only two small pieces were left clinging to his face. His eyeless gaze passed over them as he regarded them with a manic grin. "My turn."

* * *

Time is a funny thing. When you are joyful or laughing, it seems all too short, as if you can simply blink and see the day be done. When you are bored or in distress the minutes drag on without end, and hours pass for days. It was a dichotomy Uraraka hated, and one that she really didn't need to be considering right now!

As she continued her attempts at resuscitation, she couldn't help but wonder how long it had been. There was only a short window of time in which these measures could hope to succeed, and she wasn't sure if it had passed. She didn't really want to know if it had. So she continued on, heedless of the danger about her and the ongoing battle that threatened to pull her in. Her focus was singular and unwavering.

Through it all, Kirishima stood by, watching the battle unfold. Occasionally he would look back to check her progress, but for the most part, he focused on his task as well. He was their shield. The last line of defense against their foe should Bakugo and Todoroki fail. She shook the thoughts from her head as she counted the compressions. As she blew into his mouth again, she felt him twitch. Her eyes grew wide as she checked for a pulse, ignoring the racing of her own. She felt none. Nausea swept through her gut, but she forced it down and began the compressions again. At the count of thirty, she spread his jaw again. As she placed her mouth over his to force the oxygen to his lungs, she felt a sharp pain in her cheek and jumped back.

Green sparks were slowly arching off his body. She watched with bated breath, not daring to trust what she was seeing. Placing a hand to his neck, she winced as the sparks jumped to her skin. She still felt no pulse, but in her periphery, his fingers twitched. She stared at his face, praying silently for him to wake up. His brow furrowed and he grit his teeth. Beneath her hand, she felt his heart spring to life, racing dangerously. Then he gasped, sucking in a huge lungful of air. His chest shook as he hungrily pulled at the air, coughing interspersed with his breathing.

Relief flooded her, and she had to fight down the urge to hug him. His quirk was still active, however, which worried her. The last thing he needed was to lose control of it now and break one of his limbs. She ran a hand through his hair, gently trying to soothe him as his body tried to resume its normal functions.

"It's okay," she whispered, trying to keep her voice steady against the tears she could already feel forming. "You're gonna be okay."

His eyes slowly cracked open, and he met her gaze. His irises were glowing faintly. One hand rose to clutch at his chest, but she took it in hers and squeezed tightly. With his quirk active, letting him complete the motion in his current state was just a bit too risky.

"Hang in there, just a bit longer," she soothed. "We're gonna get you out of here." The intensity in his eyes faded slightly at her words, and his grip on her hand tightened. It was painfully strong, but she couldn't fault him for that. She could barely contain her relief. Still, they needed to get him to a hospital as soon as possible to make sure he didn't suffer any complications. There was still a chance his heart might fail.

"Uh, Uraraka," Kirishima's voice cut through her thoughts. She looked up to see his stance was tense, ready. The room about them had gone quiet. She looked about to see what had happened and felt her heart seize.

Bakugo was half covered in slabs of ice, a thin trail of smoke curled off of his body. She could tell he was breathing, but he appeared to be unconscious. Todoroki's head was grasped in Shadowmark's hand and currently being thrust into the icy floor. There was a gaping hole in the wall through which a cold wind was blowing and she could see the sky turning from a pale grey to a beautiful gold in the sunrise. It might be our last sunrise, she thought sadly.

"One for All," Shadowmark spoke, clicking his tongue as he turned to face them. "You should have stayed dead. Then you would be ignorant of the consequences of your spite."

He kicked Todoroki away and began walking toward them. Kirishima leaped into his path, swinging his good arm like a sword. The villain merely sidestepped the injured student and drove a hard blow into his broken arm. Kirishima howled in pain, but managed to maintain his quirk against the follow up blow to his head. Shadowmark stepped back, his hand injured from the strike, but with a flick of his wrist, the boy's shadow wrapped around his waist and pulled him to the side. He resumed his march toward them, his own shadow binding him to floor. As he approached, red light gathered in his hands, and his smile stretched so wide it threatened to split his face. This was it. She had nothing left up her sleeves. Her allies were all out of commission. They had lost.

She pulled Deku close, wrapping her arms around him in a desperate attempt to shield him as she waited for the attack to come. It didn't come. As the moment dragged on without them dying, she slowly looked up. Shadowmark was still there, hands outstretched toward them. His smile was gone, replaced by an annoyed frown.

"You really don't quit, do you?" he asked turning to the gaping hole in the wall. In the gap, clutching at his left arm, hair flying as he scowled deeply at the villain was Eraserhead.

"I'll quit when the job's done, not before," he answered.

"Or when you're dead?" Shadowmark asked, grin returning to his face. "After all, you can only keep your eyes open so long."

"True enough," he replied, voice shifting to its normally lazy lilt. "Good thing they only need a moment."

Shadowmark's grin fell. "They?"

A blur raced in passed their teacher and slammed into the villain's stomach, sending him sliding across the ice. The diminutive stature of the veteran hero never did manage to reduce his agility, and it showed as Gran Torino somersaulted backward before landing in a ready stance.

"You're lucky," he told Aizawa. "The Principal had us searching for you all when you didn't make the rendezvous."

"I never really questioned that he would," the teacher replied, staring at the slowly recovering villain.

"Reinforcements?" the villain pondered. "I hope you brought more than that."

"You rang?" a booming voice echoed from outside. Uraraka looked up in surprise as the roof was torn away and Mt. Lady peeked in from above, grinning mischievously.

"Kotsubeki Nomu," Gran Torino addressed Shadowmark. "You are under arrest for murder, attempted murder, assault, and kidnapping. Surrender quietly before we take you by force!"

The man simply grinned at him, seemingly undisturbed by his situation. "This isn't how the game is supposed to end. You cheated. You're just like him!" he shouted, thrusting a finger at Deku.

"Frankly," Todoroki spoke, straining to rise. "That's not the worst thing anyone has ever said about me."

"Speak for yourself," Bakugo spat, pushing the ice off of himself.

"Stop wasting time," Aizawa chided angrily. "I can only hold his quirks back for so long."

"Leave it to me!" another voice shouted, and Kamui Woods sprang through the open ceiling. His arm split and grew, forming thick, knotted branches that wrapped around the helpless villain. He struggled vainly against the restraints but was stunned in an instant as Gran Torino planted a kick to his face. A shadow fell across them as Mt. Lady reached a hand down into the room.

"Flea flicker!" she shouted with glee, flicking out a single finger to strike the villain's skull. He groaned in pain and Gran Torino answered with a barrage of strikes too fast for Uraraka to see. As Shadowmark began to slump, his movements growing sluggish, a coat of ice spread underneath the wooden binds.

"This isn't," he tried to speak, but a backhanded blow from Bakugo cut him off. He slumped forward then, unmoving, unspeaking. Aizawa allowed himself to blink. Still he didn't stir.

"Is he done?" Kirishima asked. Gran Torino stepped forward, examining him. He pulled out a pair of cuffs and stretched them out to bind his hands.

"He is now," he stated.

The students looked at the broken man, no less disturbing now that he had been rendered powerless. Part of them couldn't believe it was over. They had won.

A commotion from outside drew their attention, and a moment later the ice over the door was shattered. Bug Spray walked into the room, hands raised in surrender as police swarmed in behind him. They moved quickly to secure the prisoner and make room for the medics.

The medics were no less efficient in taking action. A group was instantly at her side, lifting Deku onto a stretcher. It took all of her will to fight down the instinct to keep them away. As they carried him off, she stayed nearby, watching to make sure he was safe and waving off the medics that tried to tend to her. He must have seen her worried expression, because he gave her a weak smile and a thumbs up. She smiled softly at that, noting that she could hear Kirishima walking behind, being interviewed by an officer on one side and a medic on the other. It was all so surreal, and she was afraid that any moment she would wake up and find it had all been a dream, that they were still trapped. As she stepped out into the forest however, and breathed the clean, mountain air, and saw Shadowmark placed into an iron maiden, she felt the tension finally leave her shoulders. It was over. It was really over.

* * *

 **Just one more chapter left, so stay tuned.**


	9. All's Well

A faint, rhythmic beep and the soft hum of an air conditioner greeted him as he slowly returned to consciousness. His throat was dry and sore, and his chest felt as if someone had danced on it all night. He winced as his eyes slowly opened, his head protesting the fluorescent light overhead. As his eyes adjusted, he saw sterile white walls that were becoming all too familiar these days. He was lying in a bed, covered in white sheets. An IV fed fluids to his arm, and a pair of wires ran from his chest to the beeping machine he now recognized as a heart monitor. There was a simple stand by the bed, adorned with two bouquets of flowers, each resting in a clay vase. One was dominated by purple hyssop blossoms accented by white starbursts of angelica and red spines of aloe. The other was salvia, the red and blue blossoms rose like miniature pines and filled the air with a sweet aroma.

He scanned the room around him, noting that the door was closed and the walls were barren save for a softly ticking clock. A sink and cabinets were in the corner opposite the door. His gaze stopped as it fell upon an occupied chair. Seated there was a man, little more than a skeleton these days. His blonde hair was wild, and his eyes, when open were a shocking black marked with piercing blue irises. Now, however, they were closed. The man's chest rose and fell steadily. A clock on the wall read 3 PM.

"All Might?" Izuku tried to speak, but his voice was raw and hoarse. He cleared his throat and tried again. This time, his mentor stirred. As his, eyes opened, his gaze trained on his student. He yawed deep and long as he stretched.

"Yo," he finally greeted, raising a hand.

"How long have you been there?"

"Since around noon," he answered, all signs of fatigue fading from his posture. "When we got Aizawa's message, I was sent to pay a visit to Tartarus. By the time I was done, you all were already on your way down the mountain."

"Down the mountain…" Izuku repeated, processing the information with his scattered memory and sleep addled mind. It took only a moment for him to understand, and he shot up to a sitting position. His chest tightened painfully in response, and he coughed violently. All Might was at his side quickly, easing him back down and offering him a glass of water.

"Easy there, Young Midoriya," he spoke as his student chugged down the water. Recovery Girl hasn't been by to check on you yet. You're going to be sore for a little while yet."

Izuku took his words in stride, though "sore" seemed a gross understatement to him.

"What happened?" he asked as his coughing fit came back under control.

"Aizawa managed to alert Tsukauchi and the Principal of your predicament. Fortunately, they had already called for a search in the area, so it was only a matter of time before they reached you. You on the other hand," he added, poking him in the shoulder, "had your heart stopped by Shadowmark's plasma projection."

"I'm sorry," he answered, lowering his head in shame. He knew his teacher worried when he was injured, and part of him flinched when he considered how his mother might be responding to everything. He would need to call her when he had some time.

All Might sighed tiredly. "Young Uraraka told me what happened," he said. "Frankly, I can't say I'm surprised. It's exactly the sort of thing you would do. You're just lucky she was able to keep her thoughts level and give you the care you needed in the moment." As he finished, a slight smile spread across his face.

"How is everyone else?"

"Tired, but otherwise no worse for the wear save Young Kirishima, but he is expected to make a full recovery."

"Good," he said, face relaxing as he allowed relief to wash over him. He had put on a good front, but he had honestly wondered if any of them would make it out alive, let alone all of them.

"They were all pretty worried about you," All Might continued, drawing Izuku's attention again. "They're all here. Mandatory bed rest, the doctors said. Young Uraraka has been pushing the limit of how much they'll allow her to move about, though."

"How long was I out?" he asked, yawning.

"A few hours," All Might answered. Izuku nodded, eyelids drooping.

"Wait," he said, frowning. "You said you went to Tartarus. Was that…?"

All Might nodded, his expression dropping. "With Aizawa finding Shadowmark's real name, I went to have a chat with the creator of the nomu." He sighed and pulled his chair to the bedside so he could sit. "All for One only seems interested in talking when I'm present. He finds some sick satisfaction from his attempts to get a reaction from me. Still, he seemed almost proud to give us information on Shadowmark. It seems he was the first that he imparted multiple quirks to, the illusions, plasma projection, and warp that were so troublesome for you all came from him. The nomu he created were named for Shadowmark. In a way, he was the first of them, and all the more dangerous because he kept his intellect."

"That explains a lot of what happened," Izuku muttered. "But how did he always know where we were. I don't think it was an illusion he had under his mask. His eyes really were gone. But if that's the case, then he should have had difficulty finding us, let alone responding to our attacks. And how did he know that I was the one with One for All? All for One could have told him, but-"

"Hey," All Might said, trying to break the boy out of his muttering. Izuku apparently didn't hear him, because he kept talking. "Hey. HEY!" Izuku looked up, finally realizing that he had been talking over his teacher.

"Sorry," he mumbled meekly.

"It's fine," All Might said, waving off his apology. "There's another quirk he was given, though. The ability to read other people's quirks the way a telepath might read thoughts."

"Such a powerful quirk. Why would All for One give that away?"

"Why would he give away instant regeneration?" All Might shot back. "Because it was of more use to him in the hands of one of his lackeys than in his own. His willingness to spread power around is one of the reasons his followers have always been so fiercely loyal. But that is why he knew you as One for All, rather than Midoriya Izuku. It is very likely that he thought you were me."

"That would make-" Izuku began to answer, but another yawn interrupted him. All Might seemed to take that as a signal to end their discussion.

"That is enough information for now," he said, rising. "For now, you should rest. We can talk more later."

Izuku nodded, his eyes steadily falling. All Might refilled his cup before making his way to the door. As he pulled it open, he paused and turned back.

"You did well," he said. "All of you. You still have much to learn and plenty of growing to do, but against an enemy of that caliber, I cannot imagine any group of students performing so admirably."

He turned and offered Izuku a smile and a thumbs up. The student stared at him with wide eyes, not expecting the praise. If his teacher was put off by his lack of response, he didn't show it. His smile was still in place as he stepped through the door, leaving Izuku alone. He sighed, wincing at the pain in his chest, and leaned back into the bed. He turned to look at the flowers again and saw that there was a card in the hyssop bouquet. He picked it out and pulled it open, recognizing his mother's handwriting.

"I'll be back to see you later. I'm proud of you." it read. He smiled softly. He didn't know what she had been told, but she must have been worried. He placed the card back on the table. His eyelids were so heavy. He didn't remember closing them. When he opened them again, the clock read 8 PM, and he wasn't alone.

"Yeah," he heard Uraraka say. "He's still sleeping, but the doctors said he'll be okay."

He heard someone answer from the other end of the line, but the volume was too low to make out who it was or what was said. He turned his head so he could see her. She was seated in the chair All Might had vacated earlier. She was dressed casually, wearing a pink hoodie with a white blanket draped over her lap. When she saw him moving, her eyes widened.

"Deku!" she shouted involuntarily. The phone in her hand beeped. "Ack! I hung up!"

She tapped on the screen, typing out a quick message to whoever she had been talking to. Izuku couldn't help but chuckle lightly, but even that triggered another painful coughing fit. She offered him the cup from his nightstand, and he took it gratefully, downing the contents in two long pulls.

"Thanks," he said breathlessly. She nodded and took the cup from him. She refilled it at the sink and set it back on the nightstand before returning to her seat by the bed.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I've been better," he answered wryly. "I feel like I took a Texas Smash to the chest." She laughed softly at the expression, eliciting a smile from him. "How are you feeling?"

Her smile faded slightly. "Physically, I'm fine. Recovery Girl was able to take care of me since my injuries weren't too bad. I'll probably be having nightmares for a little while though."

"We were lucky no one was hurt too badly," he said, nodding his understanding.

Apparently, he didn't understand as well as he thought, however, because her face clouded over, and she broke her gaze from his.

"Uraraka?"

"Ya know," she said, voice low. "You almost died." He stared at her, taking in her words in silence. All Might had told him what happened, but it didn't occur to him that his friends might have been afraid for him. Worried, sure, but not afraid.

"When I saw you weren't breathing," she continued. "I couldn't think. I was so scared you wouldn't wake up. That I would never get to talk to you again. That we couldn't laugh together anymore, or have fun or follow Iida's silly study strategies. When you finally woke up, I was so relieved." She fixed him with a hard stare before continuing. "Your life matters too, ya know."

He wasn't sure what to say. Of all the things she could have said, he hadn't expected that. He didn't regret his actions, he couldn't, but hearing her words, seeing the moisture in her eyes, he wished he had been able to do more. To save her without leaving her with the burden of his safety.

"Aaaah, that was way too gloomy," she sighed, smile returning. "Really, I should be thanking you for saving me. Still," her expression shifted to one of determination, "I'm gonna keep training so next time you won't have to."

"Yeah," he answered, smiling softly. "It was the same for me, you know?" Seeing her curious look, he continued. "When I saw Shadowmark targeting you, all I could think was that I didn't want you to die. If I had been faster, I probably could have gotten us both out of the way, but I'm not at that level yet. Besides, you saved me too, so I should be thanking you as well."

Her face grew red and she began to wave her hands about, flustered. "N-no, it was nothing really, anyone would have done that."

Izuku didn't really understand what had her so excited all of the sudden, but he couldn't help but smile at her energy, even if it was a little sheepish.

"You two are certainly energetic," a voice spoke from by the door. Todoroki was standing there, hands in his pockets. His expression was neutral, but Izuku had learned to recognize his stoic classmate's state of mind by his posture. Now it was relaxed.

"Todoroki," he greeted him. Oblivious to the relief on Uraraka's face.

"Aizawa sensei should be by with Recovery Girl soon," he said.

"Oh?" Kirishima exclaimed, peeking his head in the door. He turned to yell back over his shoulder. "Oi, Bakugo! Midoriya's awake!"

"Shut up!" the explosive teen snapped. "Like I care about stuff like that!"

"Don't be like-" he ended his sentence abruptly, a look of fear showing on his face.

"This is a hospital," Aizawa scolded them with a glare. "Keep your voices down."

Izuku swallowed hard at his teacher's tone, but couldn't help but feel amusement as his rambunctious classmates were corralled into his room. Aizawa spent some time debriefing them, filling in the gaps they had left in their hurried recountings and offering object lessons from their experiences. When he was finished, Izuku found himself ready to sleep again. Uraraka and Bakugo excused themselves, the former to allow him to sleep, the latter because he wanted to be anywhere else. Kirishima lingered, wanting to visit, and Todoroki stayed to keep him from staying too long. They talked for a while, filling the silence with small talk. Mostly empty, but it did a lot to lift his spirits while waiting for Recovery Girl to finish examining his charts and determine if it was safe to use her quirk.

"Man, you're lucky," Kirishima said as the conversation began to wind down, gesturing to the nightstand. "I think you're the only one that got flowers."

"Yeah," Izuku nodded. "I think they're both from my mom. There was only one card."

Todoroki tilted his head at that and glanced at the nightstand. Under the salvia bouquet was a red envelope, easily mistaken for a coaster under the vase. He lifted the vase and passed the card to his classmate, who took it with a surprised expression.

Izuku opened the envelope. Inside was a simple "Get Well Soon" card. On the back was written "The colors reminded me of All Might, so I thought you would like them. - Uraraka Ochaco" He read it twice, eyes growing wide. A girl had bought him flowers? Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? It didn't matter that much to him. He decided to accept the gesture for what it was, thoughtful and kind, a bright spot on his day. The feeling of warmth he felt in his chest was a nice contrast to the pain.

"What's it say?" Kirishima asked.

"It's rude to ask that kind of thing," Todoroki pointed out.

"All well and good," Recovery Girl spoke up, interjecting. "But you two should go to bed. You're supposed to be discharged in the morning, and I need to heal Midoriya here."

They left without protest. They both knew better than to try. When they were gone, Recovery Girl planted a kiss on Izuku's cheek. He winced as he felt his ribs shift and knit back together, but when the healing was done, he sighed, relieved to finally have a reprieve from the pain. Then he yawned as the fatigue set in full force. The healer gave him a candy and bid him sleep. He didn't protest, laying back against the pillow. He fell asleep quickly, a contented smile on his face.

* * *

They were given the next day off from classes, and they each took advantage of it to visit home. The day after, they gathered with the rest of their classmates. The room was abuzz with chatter. Kaminari spoke energetically with Kirishima while Bakugo tolerated their presence beside his desk. The girls primarily congregated around Uraraka, occasionally shooting glances toward Izuku that went unnoticed as he spoke with Iida and Todoroki. The school had managed to spin the story of Shadowmark's capture in such a way to give the students a good share of the credit, thereby avoiding a potential scandal. None of them were complaining. There had been no way for anyone to know what would transpire on their mission, and being partially responsible for such a high profile capture could only help their future prospects. Even so, they each found themselves looking over their shoulder or hesitating before stepping through a door. It would be some time before they recovered a sense of normalcy.

"Alright, everyone to your seats," Aizawa ordered as he entered the room. "Class is starting."

The students moved quickly to obey, not willing to risk his ire first thing in the morning.

"Before we begin," he continued, a half crazed smile stretching across his face. "You have a quiz."

There was a beat, then two. Then the whole class groaned in dismay only to be silenced by a sharp look from their teacher. Then again, maybe things would be back to normal sooner than they thought.

* * *

 **Well that's that. Thank you all for reading this story. It's not without its flaws, but for a first effort, I feel pretty good about it. I learned a lot that will help me do a better job on future writing endeavors as well.**

 **I'm gonna take a break for the rest of this month, but I'm going to begin working on a new story next month, so if you're interested, keep your eyes open for it to drop sometime in January.**

 **Again, thank you all for reading, reviewing, and following this story to its conclusion. I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Until the next one,**

 **MasterofDungeons.**


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